All That's Left Is Hope
by BeCkYbOnG
Summary: "Well, well," a cold, unfamiliar voice mused, the sound of it sending a chilling shiver down my spine. I felt utterly exposed where I stood, surrounded and completely outnumbered. "Look what we've got here."
1. Chapter 1

**Well, long time no see.**

So, I haven't done this in ages, but I thought I'd put up the first chapter of a story I've been working on for long and just see what happens. I know I haven't finished my other story that is up here, so this is just a little taste of what I've been doing while not updating that one.

Alright, enjoy and please review your thoughts on it…

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><p><strong>ALL THAT'S LEFT IS HOPE<strong>

**CHAPTER ONE**

_Open your eyes like I opened mine,  
>it's only the real world, a life you would never know.<br>Shifting your weight to throw off the pain,  
>well, you can ignore it, but only for so long. <em>

_(Paramore)_

"Great," I muttered.

The ground in front of me, covered with the only remains of the town that had been destroyed, seemed to stretch endlessly as I searched for a way out of the mess. Smoke and dust lingered in the air around me; it tickled my nose and made my eyes sting and burn. Though the scene in fact wasn't a surprise, it created a bugging speed bump on my already awful road; there was no way around it that would take less than a day to trail – time I didn't have the privilege to waste.

"Just freakin' great."

I aimed a hard kick at one of the trashed buildings, momentarily forgetting how solid it was, and groaned out loud as pain flared up in my toes. I hopped a few staggering steps back – I could only guess the number of splitters of glass that were lurking in the pale brown sand beneath my feet – and then sank to the warm ground with yet another growling sound of disapproval.

With a frown on my face, I watched the disaster a few feet away while my hands tugged at the ends of my dirty hair; beneath the smudge, the sun had turned its natural dark honey tone into a soft golden shine. My fingers, moving absentmindedly, twirled the strands around and around as I tried to focus on something else than the pounding in my head or the nibbling feeling in my empty stomach. Long ago, during my first months on the run, I'd been able to find food in even the most awful places – it had been my only way of surviving. But after years of the same routine – searching where drained corpses met my gaze wherever I looked – it soon became impossible for me to feign numbness.

My stomach let out a loud growl, exclaiming its hollow hunger. I wrapped my arms around myself as I slowly rocked my body back and forth, desperately trying to clutch the remaining warmth inside of me before it would faint with the fading sunshine. The sky above was already turning into a lovely mixture of pink and orange – a sign that it wasn't long till night would fall and take away my last ounce of energy. It felt silly, seeing the sunset compare its extraordinary beauty with the disastrous remains of what had once been a peaceful home for so many.

It was not until I realized my eyes were burning with more than just dirt that I gave myself in to the disappointment I'd tried repressing. I'd planned _everything_; from the short breaks I could have to the amount of water and food I'd be able to hold on to during the two-day-long run. And yet, all I'd ended up with was the same catastrophe I'd feared every other second.

No one for me to save, no one to save me.

The tears stung as they quietly slid down my warm cheeks. It was moments like these I pretended had never happened when the silent sobs and burning salt water turned into nothing but depressing memories in my mind; it was a show of weakness that I wouldn't let anyone figure out. In the world I lived in, just a tiny little promise of a person's faltering hope could lead straight into the trap of death. And frankly, I'd rather torture myself with a lifetime of running than ever giving myself in to the monsters that had started this revolution.

I leaned back until I felt my body press against warm sand; it was not as comfortable as I would've preferred, but finding another spot was useless at this hour. My heavy sigh rang through the quiet evening as my tired gaze traced the flawless sight above of me. The beauty of it was what usually lulled me to sleep; it was the only moment of peace I was provided with.

In my mind, a soft memory played itself for me; a song whispered in my ear in the darkness of the night.  
><em><br>Tonight just close your eyes and dream,  
>I'll keep you safe right here with me.<br>Tonight just sleep and find your peace,  
>I'll keep you safe right here with me. <em>

My eyes closed as I listened to my mother's silent words, pretending her voice was not just in my head. If I really focused, I could almost feel the tips of her fingers brushing away the strands of hair from my face, the warm puffs of air tickling my neck as she sang the lullaby that would drag my mind away from reality.

When sleep finally willed me into a brittle slumber, I was lost in the imagination that my mother was lying beside me, her arms around me keeping me hidden from the inevitable cold.

_"Amber!"_

_I flinched in surprise as the sound of an ominously harsh voice gripped a hold of me. I could hear a pair of familiar footsteps march towards where I stood on the porch of our house; as I unwillingly turned away from the front door, my mother was just a foot away from the small staircase leading up to me. _

_"Where on earth have you been?" she asked, an odd note of panic lacing her voice. "I've looked everywhere for you!"_

_"I was just at…"_

_My words were cut off as she nearly yanked me off the front porch, her hand suddenly a tight claw around my wrist. _

_"Mum!" I exclaimed, unsuccessfully trying to pull back._

_She tugged me along, moving towards the southern end of town. "We have to hurry, Honey."_

_"Why?" I could hear my voice turn into a whine. "Where are we going?" _

_"Your dad's waiting for us. The three of us are going on a little trip." _

_"But I can't just..."_

_"It'll be fun," she interrupted._

_I wasn't fooled. "Why can't it wait until the weekend?" _

_"Please, just trust me on this." _

_I frowned as she hurried her steps even further, making me nearly trip over my feet. There was something in the air, an ominous feeling that was biting my skin. _

_"Mum," I said again, my voice weaker. "What's really going on?" _

_She pulled us to a stop and when she turned to face me, her eyes – with the same dark brown tone as mine – were tinted with glistening tears. I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched her unexplained grief. _

_"They're here, Amber," she said. Her gaze swept around once before she quietly added, "The vampires." _

_I was terrified, but not by her words – it was her behavior that frightened me. _

_"Are you alright, Mum?" I asked. _

_Her voice was filled with despair as she said, "I'm not going crazy. They're coming here and they'll kill us all if we don't run!" _

_I shook my head, searching my mind for a way to calm her, but my thoughts were cut off short as a loud, high-pitched scream came echoing towards us. I could feel the hair on my neck prickle in fear and my eyes widen, turning my face into the same mask of horror as my mother's was already frozen in. Everything was silent for a long moment… And then hell broke out. _

_Thunders and screams was all I could hear and the smoke rising to the sky was all I could see. _

_"What's happening?" I breathed, too horrified to speak any louder. _

_"We have to go," my mum tried to urge, but her voice was drowned by the sounds of shouts and cries for help. _

_She tugged at my arm, motioning for me to move, but I stood stiff as I listened to the pained screams of the people I'd known my entire life. _

_"Please, Honey." Behind the panicked shouts, I could hear my mother's voice crack at her nickname for me. "Your father's waiting." _

_"But those are our friends," I whispered. "They need our help." _

_"We can't help them, Amber." _

_I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. "Something's happening to them. We can't just leave them!"_

_"You can't save them, not from vampires."_

_"Vampires? Mum, there are no vampires!" _

_She didn't argue with words this time; her legs started moving again as she proceeded with dragging me along. I struggled against her grip on my wrist, refusing to stop even when I felt her wince, but it barely slowed her down. _

_Even through the blurry tears, I could detect the sight of cliffs marking the horizon – a sign that we were near the edge of town where the desert took over. I'd never been allowed to enter it and neither had I been willing to; there was something about the emptiness of it that had always frightened me. _

_I felt relief as I caught sight of my father's familiar figure; he would help me. _

_"Laura, thank God!" he cried out as we rushed to him. "We don't have much time before they pick up on our scents." _

_"Do you have everything?" my mum asked, sounding breathless. _

_He raised his arm to show the backpack he was tightly gripping. "It won't last for long, but it'll keep her alive until she finds more." _

_"Medicine, too?" _

_"Yes, of course. I brought…" _

_"What's going on?" I demanded, cutting my father off. _

_He shot my mother an unreadable look before he bent down to level his face with mine. His expression was graver than I'd even seen it. "Amber, there are bad people here. They're like…hunters, but with special powers. You have to move quickly and discreetly, or they'll find you and try to hurt you." _

_I didn't miss his choice of words. "Why are you talking like I'm the only one in danger?" _

_"Because you're gonna have to run. Alone." _

_"But… Mum, you told me all three of us were going." _

_Her gaze was tear-filled again as I glanced at her and her voice was broken as she said, "It's the only way we can make sure you survive. We'll only slow you down if we come with." _

_I swallowed loudly. "I'm not going anywhere without you. I don't even understand what's happening or who's after us!" _

_"Vamp—" _

_"Vampires don't exist!" My frustrated shout lingered in the air for a few seconds until I broke into a sob. I could feel the faltering of my legs, but my mother finally let go of my wrist to pull me into her arms, holding me up. "They can't exist," I sniffled against her warm skin, frantically shaking my head. _

_My mum leaned back to cradle my face, trying to keep me still. "Look at me… Amber… Honey, look at me." Her soft words managed to cut through my shell of denial and panic, and my gaze finally focused on hers. "Everything's gonna be alright. You hear me? Everything will be fine." _

_I slowly nodded, forcing myself to calm down. The sound of a cry coming from not far behind me shook my control; the piercing voice, young and shrill, was familiar in my ears. I squeezed my eyes shut while my lower lip trembled, desperately trying to will away the tones of my friend's last shout for help. _

_"Don't listen to it," my father murmured, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. _

_It took me a moment to find the calmness I needed to open my eyes to the terrifying reality again. I let my gaze dart between my parents for a long moment; there was something about their faces, a desperation in their eyes that soon made me realize that denying their last request – no matter how horrible – was starting to feel just as awful as accepting it. _

_I managed to whisper, "What do I do?" _

_"You run," my father said. He made it sound like the task was what I'd been destined with for longer than five minutes. "Run and don't look back." _

_I sucked in a deep breath. "I can do that," I mumbled, trying to convince myself. _

_My mother smiled a weak, but encouraging smile. "That's good, Honey." She looked up at my father and without speaking, he handed her the stuffed backpack. She helped me put it on while she said, "We've packed you some things you'll need. Use them wisely, Amber." _

_I quietly asked, "Will you promise me something as well?" _

_They nodded. _

_"Please, try surviving," I murmured, fighting to keep my voice from cracking. _

_"Until our last breath," my mother answered for both of them, not missing a beat. _

_I could feel the urging tears pressing behind my eyelids as I clutched myself to her, gripping the soft fabric of her blouse with my hands in a desperate attempt to hold on to her before the time for us to separate would come. My father wound his arms around the two of us and I breathed in their mixed scents, trying to remember my mum's favorite vanilla scented lotion and the musky cologne my dad wore. _

_Suddenly a cool breeze swept over me; in the flash of a second a horrifying crack was heard and my parents were gone, leaving me hugging nothing but air. I blinked around in surprise, but the feeling swiftly changed into fright as I caught sight of my father lying stiffly on the ground a foot away from me. His face was turned to me, revealing his blank, pale blue eyes and slightly open mouth. _

_"Dad?" I asked, slowly sinking down beside him. "Daddy?" _

_I could hear the short gasps leaving my lips as my fingers slowly touched his cheek. My other hand pushed gently against his shoulder, trying to wake him up. It was to no avail; he was gone. _

_A pained whimper behind me had me, on pure instinct, scrambling to my feet and spinning around. My mother stood a foot or two away, her tense body encircled by the arms of a frighteningly muscular man. His eyes, with the disturbing color of a glistening red, stared me down as he held his hand tightly pressed over my mum's mouth, defying her of making more than grunts and mumbling sounds. _

_His gaze darted to a point above of my head and as he spoke, his dark voice made my skin crawl in fear. "Take care of that, Dominic," he said. _

_I frowned at his confusing words and the frantic look in my mother's eyes, but my shock instantly faded into a numb disbelief as the man's mouth pulled up into a disgusting grin. It was not just the smile that got to me; the two pointy teeth shining behind his lips were what took my breath away. _

_Vampire. _

_An unintentional scream left me as he as he crushed his mouth against my mum's bare throat. My feet were frozen to the ground – I couldn't run, couldn't turn away from the heart-breaking image. All I could do was watch as stripes of red trickled down my mother's tanned neck and melted into the collar of her white blouse. There was a burning emotion in her gaze as she stared just as intensely back at me; it made her thoughts as clear to me as if she would've yelled them in my ear. _

_A growl behind me, so animalistic it made my stomach flip, immediately stopped my plans on running. I swallowed loudly as I slowly managed to move my body around to face the other intruder. My lower lip trembled in fear as my eyes traced the man's unknown face; his dark mahogany hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail, was matching to the ruby tone of his gaze – which was currently glaring burning daggers at me. _

_I took an unconscious step back. _

_"Please," I whispered, too desperate and panicked to realize that my words would be useless. "Don't hurt me." _

_He watched me silently as his face slowly wiped clear of all the fury; for a moment, I thought I saw regret flooding to surface in his scary eyes. I couldn't tear my gaze away, not even when I heard the last struggling gurgles of my mother or when the image of my father's dead features pressed behind my eyelids. _

_There was just a long moment of nothing but the sight of the vampire's pale, extraordinary face. _

_His voice was a soft murmur as he suddenly said, "Run." _

_I didn't hesitate; my feet were instantly moving, steering me towards the one place I knew I wouldn't be able to last for long in. My fingers trembled as I ran – I couldn't decipher if it was out of fear or the struggle of not falling to the ground and letting out all the sobs of pain I could feel building a thick lump in my throat. _

_There was a swooshing sound and in the matter of a heartbeat, the vampire was standing right in front of me, forcing me to pull to a stop. My breath hitched as I shook my head in disbelief; he'd tricked me. _

_"Just keep running," he surprised me by whispering. _

_I paused this time to frown at him, but as I remembered the sight of fangs hiding behind the lips of the other vampire, I quickly pushed past him to make another leap for the desert. The exhausting fear became a hinder as I ran; I was just as clueless as I was frightened of the man's actions. The swish of the wind was there every other second, haunting my mint to a point where I couldn't stop constant frantic hisses from leaving my lips. _

_The ground swiftly changed and soon warm sand spurted up behind my feet as I hurried towards the only freedom I had to pick. I could feel the frustrated tears spring in my eyes as I realized how much tougher the running was becoming, but I fought to keep my pace; it was not until I realized I'd been left alone that I fell to my feet. _

_The sun baked my skin as I cried in the sand, but the warmth of it wasn't enough to dry the tears…_

My eyelids flew open.

I gasped for fresh air, hoping it would soothe the squeezing feeling in my chest. My shaking fingers traced the wetness on my cheeks; it made it harder for me to separate the dream from my new reality. I'd been through it all before, though, the sensation of a rope tightening around my torso and the struggle to ease the panic in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to erase the painful memory, it always found a way to come back whenever I thought my body was willing to let me find rest. I felt far weaker and broken than the moment before I'd fallen asleep, but I wasn't surprised to wake up with true tears in my eyes; they were promised to follow as the guilt crept back, too, encouraging my beliefs about me being the reason my parents were dead.

Minutes passed before I finally noticed the chilly breeze in the air. It soared around me, making my skin crawl as my tired gaze tried searching for an escape from the uncomfortable cold. The moon was hiding from the dark sky and the beautiful stars I was so used to admire were absent; the loss of them made it impossible for my eyes to adjust to the pitch-black night. It disoriented me just as much as it frightened me.

I hesitantly started pulling myself up into a sitting position, but fell flat on my back as my head bumped into something hard. My breath hitched as an odd click was heard and merely a second later, the night was illuminated by a light so bright it hurt my eyes.

"God, dammit!" I groaned, trying to roll away from the blinding object.

Panic bubbled in me as I realized my body was imprisoned by two unfamiliar legs; they held me captive on the ground. A hand was laid on my shoulder, triggering me into squirming even more fiercely in the sand that tangled into my hair. I'd fought for so long, struggled for survival… I knew I wasn't ready to die.

But no attack was made.

I squinted up in suspicion as the light grew fainter; my startled gaze followed the features of a face that was lingering higher above of mine. Under a thin layer of smudgy dirt, a tan was visible – a clear sign that the stranger had spent a lot of time below the crucially warm sun. Eyes with the surprising color of a stormy blue sea met mine; I stared rudely into them while I marveled the depth of the irises.

Only a moment later did I notice why my fear had vanished the second his face had been revealed to me. There was more than just his lovely gaze that made my breath get caught in my suddenly thick throat. And just realizing that made my lips pull up in the first, tiny smile since I'd lost the only family I'd ever had.

He was human.

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><p>(And yes, the lullaby I created is shamelessly lame, but I couldn't find anyone on Internet that didn't sound like a horror movie. Seriously.)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Short author's note: **I was too impatient to keep this from going up as well. Don't worry, some action actually happens in this chapter! 

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

_There's a fire starting in my heart,  
>reaching a fevered pitch and it's bringing me out the dark.<br>Finally, I can see you crystal clear,  
>go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare.<em>

_(Adele)_

I stared at the man in total astonishment.

"Are you alright?" he asked, slowly, as he watched me back with uncertainty.

I opened my mouth once, twice, but the words got stuck; I was too stunned to make a sound. His face looked real as it hovered closely over mine – I doubted my mind could conjure such an image – but still I waited for it to explode into little fireworks and leave me alone in the cold night. The hand on my shoulder stopped feeling like a threat; instead I thought of it as proof to my silly theory about how the person pressing me to the ground wasn't a hallucination.

His eyebrows lowered over his eyes in a frown. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help."

I swallowed loudly before I finally managed to ask, "Are you real?"

Relief flashed across his face; I couldn't understand why. "Yes," he calmly answered.

"You're human," I mumbled, more to test the words than to state the obvious fact.

He smiled a small but beautiful smile as he murmured, "I'm human."

I felt the humiliating tears press behind my eyelids, but for once I didn't care as they slid down my cheeks; all I could feel was an overwhelming joy as the final realization struck me. He was real.

"Where are you hurting?" the man asked, misreading my reaction.

"I'm fine…"

He shuffled to his feet without listening, leaving the flash light on the ground beside me, and quickly returned with a backpack in his hand. I slowly heaved myself up into a sitting position as he easily flopped down a few inches away. He rustled around through the contents of the bag for a short while until he suddenly reached out to drop something in my lap.

I felt the undeniable thirst turn my throat dry as I watched the water inside the plastic bottle, but it took a moment for my fingers to touch the cold surface of it. My hands acted on instinct as I threw the lid off, but just as the bottle brushed my lips, the man's voice stopped me.

"Drink it slowly," he said, his eyes calmly focused on my face. "You need to keep your body balanced."

It was the exact opposite of what I wanted, but I took his warning in consideration as I hesitantly got the lovely liquid down gulp by gulp, craving more with each drop. It took me an extreme effort, but as I carefully placed the bottle on the ground a while later, there was still at least ten centiliters left. I knew I would want it later.

"Thanks," I mumbled, glancing up at the man.

He shrugged. "It's just water."

"Do you have any left?"

His hands started digging through the backpack again, but I stopped him before he could offer anything else.

"I didn't mean for me," I said. My voice was slowly starting to sound a bit normal. "It's just… I'll be more grateful if I know you didn't waste your last stack."

"I'll find more," he said, easily.

I frowned. "It's a _desert_."

He smiled again, as if my word were humorous, and self-confidentially repeated, "I'll find more."

I stared at him silently for a few seconds, trying to read the expression on his face in the dim light, and then asked, "What's your name?"

"Cody," he said. It sounded too boyish to belong to his grown features. "What about you?"

"I'm Amber." I waited a short moment until I continued with, "How long have you been out here?"

He was quiet for so long that I wondered if he wasn't going to answer, but just as I was about to say something else, he replied, "I actually have no idea."

"That makes two of us."

This time it was him that kept up with the questions. "Are you alone?" he asked, almost cautiously.

I only nodded; it was answer enough.

"Have you always been alone?"

"I've never gotten there in time," I mumbled, feeling the last sparkle of disappointment set itself into motion inside of me. "Do _you_ have anyone else?"

"I used to," he answered, suddenly speaking just as quietly as me. He stared out into the night for a few seconds until he glanced back at me, a new emotion in his blue eyes. "You must be freezing," he said, changing the topic.

"I'm alright," I lied; I could barely feel the tips of my fingers or toes.

He raised an eyebrow at me, but I didn't have time to object before he swiftly took off a piece of his clothing; it looked like a monk jacket. I wasn't sure what to say as he shuffled closer to hold it around me, so instead I just slid my arms into the sleeves, too cold and stunned to want to turn his offer down. His hands beat mine to the zipper, and for some reason I couldn't stop from smiling weakly as he closed the jacket around me.

I watched him quietly as he leaned back a bit, not missing the slight wince as his now bare arms adjusted to the night.

"Won't you be cold?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," he said with a light shrug.

I pursed my lips. "Why are you being so generous?"

"I've been alone for so long, Amber." His voice made my name sound extraordinary. "Do you honestly think I'm gonna let you freeze to death?"

"I just don't think you should waste everything on me."

"Well, I'm not gonna let you say no," he was quick to reply, a new smile on his lips.

I stared at him for a long moment while he grabbed his backpack to look through the contents again. There was something about the color of his eyes that reminded me of a sweet child, while the sharp angle of his jaw made him look grown and adult. The odd mix of those features had me lost in thoughts as he pulled out a can and glanced back at me.

"What?" he slowly asked.

I shook my head to clear it. "Nothing," I mumbled. "What have you got there?"

He watched me for a few seconds before he seemed to drop it. "This," he said, "is early breakfast."

"Pork and beans?" I guessed, teasing now.

"Only the best kind," he smirked.

He was sitting close enough that he barely had to reach out to hand me the can; the short distance was comfortable after so much loneliness. I carefully got the lid off and looked at the brown, mushy content; no matter how uneatable it looked, my stomach was quickly on alert with a growl for attention. I bit my lip, knowing he'd heard it just as clearly as I had, but he didn't seem to care as he reached a spoon in my direction.

I tried taking it, but he moved his hand back a bit as if it was treat I had to earn.

"Just like with the water," he warned.

I nodded, trusting his calm instincts more than my nearly animalistic ones. The spoon felt odd in my grip as I carefully emptied the can; I couldn't remember the last time I'd used anything but my poorly washed fingers.

"Thanks again," I said as I let the can touch the sandy ground a long moment later. I felt better than I had in a very, very long time.

He shrugged just like before, but this time I pushed my shoulder against his; it was so weak that I wondered if he even noticed.

"Don't act like it's no big deal," I mumbled, objecting to his indifference.

"I don't mean to," he replied. "I just think you should accept my help."

"Well, put yourself in my shoes. Would you really want a stranger to waste his whole stack?"

He smiled slightly. "Actually, I would be relieved that someone in this world cared enough to want to help me."

I knew he was right. "I _am_ relieved," I said. "And thankful."

"We're in the same boat here. I'll do anything to make sure you're alright."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I leaned back to rest on my elbows while I glanced at the spot where I knew the destroyed buildings were hiding in the dark. From the corner of my eye I could see him mimicking my posture.

"I'm overwhelming you, aren't I?" he asked; I could hear the smile in his voice.

I looked back at him. "A bit, yeah. I mean… When I fell asleep, I'd just accepted the fact that I'd been too late to save the people of this town. And then, bam – there you were. It feels so surreal."

"I guess I startled you a little too much. To be honest, I wasn't sure if you were human or not."

"Gee, thanks."

"Your eyes were closed and you looked so pale in the moonlight… It could've been a trap."

I frowned slightly. "I think you're a bit more precautious than me."

"I gathered that already. Falling asleep out here in the open? They could've come back, you know."

"I know," I sighed.

"I'm gonna change that."

I couldn't help but smile in the dark. "You sound so sure."

"Well, seeing that you'll probably never be able to get rid of me from now on… I think I have enough time to make you see like me."

I laughed a little in response.

He waited a beat before he asked, almost carefully, "Are you ready to go?"

I didn't need to think through if I was going with him or not; I wasn't letting go of him for as long as possible. Still, my stomach swirled – for once not with hunger – as he shuffled to his feet, grabbing his backpack and flashlight on the way. I gladly took the hand he reached out; compared to his surprisingly graceful movements, I would feel like a stumbling elephant. His fingers, strong and warm, stunned me by entwining with mine.

I didn't object as he started walking, easily choosing the trail I hadn't been able to figure out.

"For the record," I said, softly, "I don't want to get rid of you."

* * *

><p>It took me until the next sunset to realize that having Cody with me was the greatest relief I'd felt in a long time. Not only did he know exactly which ways to pick, but he seemed to always have a band aid or a bottle of fresh water in that little bag of his. I couldn't understand where he got it from, but he was quick to show me that turning his offers down didn't mean he wouldn't force them on me.<p>

It took me exactly five rises of the sun to gather that he'd had more training than me. I'd never thought of the time that passed between my breaks, but with Cody running beside me, it didn't take long to realize that my body wasn't the slightest near his top condition. He never complained or commented on it; _I _was in fact the one that groaned in disappointment whenever my sides started aching or my legs felt unbearably wobbly.

It took me no more than eleven starlit nights to admit that I was falling for him. 

* * *

><p>I gazed at the licking flames of the tiny bonfire in front of me.<p>

"Tell me something," I murmured.

"What?" Cody asked, his voice just as quiet and content.

"Anything."

He didn't speak for a long time, but I could almost hear his brain work as he pondered his stories. Finally, he said, "I could tell you about my sister."

I glanced at his face but was unable read anything out of his expression.

He seemed to understand my unasked question. "She's the one I used to be with." The 'used to' made me feel sad already. "She was only seven when they came to our town. None of us knew what was going on. It was all just a chaos, people screaming and running around like they'd gone insane. My father grabbed me and my sister, handed us backpacks and told us to run. Of course I listened to him, but my sister, she started crying before we'd even gotten out of the house."

He paused for a moment and I wondered if it was to think or to control his emotions. Carefully, I let my fingers find his in the sand. I was so used to the touch of his warm skin that I barely reacted when his hand tightened around mine.

"We used up all the food and water in three days," he continued solemnly. "It made her cry even more. I knew I couldn't drag her along for much longer, so I found her a hiding place and told her to wait until I returned. I remember staying with her until she fell asleep and then heading out into the cold night. It was the last time I saw her."

Tears were pressing mildly behind my eyelids as I quietly asked, "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. She was gone when I came back."

"Do you think the monsters found her?"

He didn't seem surprised by my definition of the vampires. "I think they found her a long time before that night. They were just looking for an opportunity."

I frowned. "If so, wouldn't they have waited until you returned?"

"Those leeches aren't killing just to show how they rule the world," he said, his tone even graver than before. "They're doing it because it's _fun_. They want to mess with our heads, Amber."

In my mind, the sounds of the mahogany-haired monster chasing me through the desert played.

"You think they wanted to scare you by taking your sister," I murmured.

I heard him swallow loudly. "Not scare. I think they wanted to mock me for being so careless."

"You weren't careless," I objected. "You tried to protect her."

"Well, I failed."

My eyelids were starting to feel slightly heavy as I mumbled, "At least she might still be alive."

"Alive," he scoffed. I watched him with half-open eyes, seeing the change of expression as he realized what my words meant. He asked, "Is that what happened to your family?"

I looked up at the sky, hiding the grief I could feel souring my face. "My parents knew what was going on," I said, feeling like I owed it to him to share my story as well. "I was terrified when they told me I was going to have to run, but I finally accepted it. I was just saying goodbye to them when the monsters found us at the end of my hometown." I held back a sniffle as a tear managed to escape; I'd never said these words out loud. "They snapped my father's neck and I watched as one of them drained my mother."

"I don't understand," he whispered, his voice surprisingly thick. "How did you escape?"

"The other one… I think he was trying to save me."

Cody didn't say anything this time. I closed my eyes, trying to keep the tears locked behind my eyelids, but they still managed to slipper. I could hear movements in the sand, but I was still surprised enough to wince when soft fingers suddenly wiped away the saltwater from my cheeks. As I slowly peeked through my eyelashes, Cody's face was at a palm-sweating distance from mine.

"We don't have to talk about it," he murmured, his free hand trailing down to linger at the base of my neck.

It took me an extreme effort just to say, "It's alright."

I bit my lip as his fingers brushed just the slightest against my collarbone. It was impossible to resist from drowning in his stormy blue eyes as they locked with mine; I could barely remember my own name as he gazed at me, the only sound the crackling of the fire beside us. The moment felt too fragile to fit in my ruined world.

My eyes closed as he leaned in to let his lips touch mine, sending little sparkles of an odd yearning through me. His hand moved to curl behind my neck, keeping my face to his as he kissed me, passionately but softly. It wasn't like the small pecks on the cheek or the brushing of two pair of lips; this was a flaring kiss that seemed to burn hotter than the flames of fire.

As he leaned back a long moment later I let out a shaky breath.

"What was that for?" I whispered, slowly looking up at him.

He smiled beautifully. "I had to do it before it was too late," he murmured, letting go of my neck to stroke my cheek again.

I knew what he meant; the monsters could be lurking around the corner at any time. My gaze wandered to the ground as my lips tingled, still lost in the feeling of Cody's kiss. I could almost feel his eyes scrutinizing my face, and my finger started drawing circles in the sand while I attempted to look nonchalant.

A hand tilted my head up just seconds later.

"I'm sorry if I…"

I cut him off before he could proceed with his misunderstanding. "It was wonderful."

His smile grew wider and the corners of my mouth tugged upwards in response. I crept across the sand to settle down beside him – keeping our hands locked – so that I could rest my head against his shoulder. I didn't object as he leaned us back to the ground; I instantly snuggled closer to him, shielding myself from the night's sudden coldness.

"Is it okay if I just sleep for a while?" I mumbled against the jacket he'd found for himself. I was still wearing his previous one.

"I thought I told you I wouldn't let you sleep out in the open."

I closed my eyes, hoping he would break his rule for the night. "Just for an hour or so…"

I didn't have time to realize why he was moving until my body was high up in the air, curled up in his arms. My eyelids flew open in protest.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

"Like I said, I'm not gonna let you sleep out here," he said, determinedly, as he somehow managed to put the fire out.

It was undeniably cozy, but I couldn't let him strain himself just for another hour of sleep. "Then I'll walk."

"No, you'll sleep," he stated as he started moving, carrying me in his arms without breaking a sweat.

"I won't let you…"

"Just sleep."

I wanted to protest even further, but my eyes were already closing, refusing to listen to my conscience. With a soft sigh I gave up, letting myself find comfort in the warmness I could feel radiating through his thin shirt. I couldn't recall any time during the run that I'd felt so completely…content.

I doubted it took me more than a minute to fall asleep.

I awoke in the capture of two warm arms.

My body was turned in a half-sitting, half-lying position and my head was resting against a relaxed shoulder. Through my shirt, I could feel the slow rising and sinking of the chest my back was pressed against. The air was thick enough that I could feel the drops of sweat break out on my already drenched forehead.

It took me a moment to scramble through my mind for the memories of the night: Cody's beautiful smile glittering in the darkness, the feeling of his lips moving with mine, the sad story of the loss of his little sister… I opened my eyes, longing for the sight of Cody's face, but all my gaze could trace was complete blackness.

"You awake?" I tried asking, but the compact air made it come out as a weak whisper.

His answer was a low groan and a tightening of his arms. I could barely breathe with him squeezing me even closer to his chest.

"Cody," I said, wheezing the name out.

"What?" he muttered, his voice raspy with sleep.

"You're crushing me," I gasped. "I…can't…breathe!"

In an instant his arms released me; I sucked in as much air as I could in response.

"Sorry," he said, his voice finding its way back to normal.

I shrugged, realizing a second later that he couldn't see it. The quite familiar sound of him rustling through the contents of his backpack was heard a few seconds later; I sighed in relief as his flashlight clicked to life, revealing my surroundings. The walls around me were just a few inches away and I pressed my fingers against the surface of them, fascinated by the feeling of such cold stone.

"Exactly how long did you carry me?" I slowly asked, glancing back at his face.

He answered by crawling past me to push against a spot, bit by bit rolling away a huge block. The beams of sun shone in on us the second they had the opportunity to; I smiled slightly, relieved to see the light after such a long moment of compact darkness.

I waited impatiently for him to move, but as he remained tensed in the opening, I quickly climbed across his legs. A hand gripped my wrist halfway through.

"Amber, wait," he quietly said. The warning edge to his voice made me instantly slump onto his lap.

I glanced around cautiously before I whispered, "What is it?"

He gently pushed me away, causing me to slide down onto the warm, sandy ground. I frowned in suspicion as he took several steps outside, moving ominously slowly.

"What's going on?" I asked, shuffling to my feet to hurry after him.

He mumbled something unintelligibly before he turned to me, his eyes frighteningly clear of emotions. His hands cradled my face – they burned hotter on my skin than the bright sun – but I only watched him silently, confused by his odd behavior.

"I wish I'd met you before, Amber," he said, gravely. "I think having you in my life would've made everything different."

I wasn't as surprised as I was perplexed by his words.

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry," he murmured.

"For _what_?" I asked.

He leaned in to leave a warm kiss on my forehead. Against my skin, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

A cool breeze swept over me as spots of white flashed through the air; I glanced around myself in confusion. A small gasp left my lips as my gaze traced the dozen of red-eyed monsters that were standing in a loose circle around me, just a few feet away. All of them were glaring dangerously at me, crouched as if ready to jump any second.

I looked up at Cody in despair, but he refused to meet my gaze as he slowly backed away. A lump of nausea grew in my throat as the realization dawned on me and my lips burned sourly where Cody's had touched them just hours ago. He was on _their_ side.

"Well, well," a cold, unfamiliar voice mused; the sound of it sent a chilling shiver down my spine. I felt utterly exposed where I stood, surrounded and completely outnumbered. "Look what we've got here."

Another said, "Riley will be pleased with your work, human."

It didn't take me much to understand that he was talking to the blue-eyed traitor that had silently moved to hide behind the wall of monsters.

"What do you think?" a third voice asked, darkly and mockingly. "Should we _share_?"

I could hear the quick gasps that were leaving my lips, but I couldn't control my breathing as a few of them laughed cruelly.

"No," someone said, surprisingly calmly. For just a second I thought that there was actually a part of humanity in at least one of them. But then the monster added, "Perhaps a treat would cheer Riley up."

A strong hand clamped down on my shoulder a second later, and I hissed as I tried shrugging away from it. "I think you're right. We all know how he likes a little struggle."

They laughed again at that, and my lower lip trembled as I fought to keep myself from shrieking in fear. A low whimper still managed to escape as the monster standing behind me spun me around to grip my chin harshly, his fingers digging into my cheeks.

His dark ruby gaze traced my face for a moment before he muttered, "I doubt it'll be that much of a struggle, though."

I gasped as I, in the matter of a second, was flung over his shoulder. My fists banged weakly against the back I was facing and my legs kicked aimlessly in the air as I desperately fought to be put down again; of course it only earned me more dark laughter from the monsters. In the background, I heard Cody's protest as another gripped him and I secretly wished they would've dragged him by his blonde hair instead.

There was a brief moment of silence…

And then the world started spinning.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I'm not really the sort of person who answers every review in the beginning of their chapters, but I just wanted to give a short reply to Saraa: '**Haha, I'll keep that in mind, but unfortunately (or, perhaps_ not _so unfortunately) Cody will be absent for a while. I just wanted to point it out ;)'

**Also, I'd like to mention that there may be longer gaps between my updates now that school starts again. I do have several of chapters written, but they need some polishing before they get up here. A _lot_ of polishing, to be correct.**

**Finally, I wanted to thank everyone for reviewing; you guys are awesome, really! **

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

_I'm crying out, I'm backing down,  
>I am feeling it all.<br>Stuck inside these walls,  
>tell me there is hope for me.<em>

_(Sia)_

My eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

I could barely feel my arms anymore where they were gripped harshly behind my back; the pain had faded into numbness long ago. My feet stumbled over hard floor as the monster holding me carelessly pushed me forwards, steering me towards a destination I refused to even think about. There were smug voices all around me – voices I was furiously trying to tune out.

The sound of a door being cracked open was heard and after a loud shout for attention, all of them silenced. I bit my lip to stay just as quiet as the hands behind me forced me to kneel on the cold marble surface beneath me.

"What's this?" a sharp, dark voice demanded.

Someone beside me grimly answered, "We found another one."

"What's it doing _here_?"

I flinched mildly as my ears detected the condescending '_it_'.

"We thought you'd like…"

"I thought I'd made it very clear: you're supposed to _kill_ them. There are no exceptions."

"But we just…"

Again he was interrupted. "Do you hear me? No exceptions."

The booming silence that followed made me shiver as I waited for the sting of teeth or blow of a supernaturally strong fist. There was no sound but my labored breathing and drumming of my fast heartbeat.

Finally, a soft, melodious voice rang through the room.

"I'll take her."

For the first time since I'd been brought there, I cautiously opened my eyes to peek up at the monster that had spoken. I felt my mouth plop open inaudibly as my gaze trailed from the short tousle of dark mahogany hair to the pair of dark eyes that were focused on me and down to the full lips that were closed. My memories had most certainly not done him any justice; his alabaster face was an image of angelic perfection.

"You want this?" another male asked. His pale face, though beautiful in a way, was harsh with sharp angles, contrasting oddly to the soft honey brown tone of his elegantly fixed hair. Judging by his dominant voice and confident stance – even with the monsters waiting impatiently in a wide half circle around him – it was the leader they'd brought me here for. Riley.

The mahogany-haired one didn't even blink as he answered, "Yes. She's clearly not of any interest to you."

"It's a _human_." The leader spat the last word out. He glared at me with such despise in his piercingly red eyes that I nearly expected my body to flare up in flames. "If we don't kill it, you know it's going down with the others."

"That's why I want her. She's not like them. She's…fresh."

How could I have been foolish enough to hope for him to help me? He was even _worse_ than the others.

The leader, as well as the rest of the room, looked at me for a heart-splintering long moment before he let out a cold, "Fine."

He snapped his fingers and on cue, the hands on my arms vanished. Kinder ones caught me before I could fall face-first to the floor; I tried squirming away from the cool touch, but the monster didn't even seem to notice as he – gently, but firmly – started tugging me away from the crowd. My feet skidded over the floor as I struggled to lock them to the ground.

"But Dominic," the leader called, stopping us a foot away from the only exit. I didn't dare look back at him. "If it does a single little thing to bother me or anyone else, I will kill it."

With that, the door in front of me was pushed open, but I fought to stay inside this time; I'd rather take death than the hell I had coming for me. The monster still easily moved me outside and with a loud _bam_, my last chance of being free from this cruel world was gone.

All the fight rushed out of me in a gust of air. My body slumped to the floor, only held up by the hands that were gripping my upper arms. I closed my eyes as I tiredly waited for the moment when the monster would let go of me.

"Come on," I heard him say quietly.

I refused to react to his prompting.

He sighed as he surprised me by picking me up bridal style, but still I forced myself to remain as dead as I could be while he carried me. I wasn't shocked that his breathing stayed calm and steady; of course my weight couldn't be the slightest bothering to have in his arms. I heard another door being opened and closed and then he stopped in his tracks.

I held in a hiss as the monster's body disappeared, excepting to land on hard ground instead of the soft furniture I bounced onto. As I understood I wasn't about to crack my skull, I quickly rolled over onto my side to curl into a fetus pose, my eyes remaining closed while I waited for whatever he had prepared for me. The tension was once again unbearable.

"You're going to have to look at me some time, you know," came his melodious voice, further away than I'd anticipated.

I didn't move, demonstrating my objection.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he continued just as calmly.

A tiny snort managed to escape me.

He sighed just like before; it was a soft sound. My teeth gritted together as I struggled to push away the curiosity of shooting a glance at his face. No matter how tempting the thought of getting to take in his flawlessness again was, I would _not_ give in.

"What's your name?" he asked, changing his tactics.

I expected him to come up with another useless question as I ignored him, so when a cold hand suddenly landed on my shoulder, I couldn't stop my eyelids from flying open. I didn't have time to even _think_ about closing them again before I was on my back with him pinning me down, his dark gaze locked with my shocked one.

A layer of complete contentment settled like a warm blanket over my other emotions.

"Your name?" he repeated, his low voice somehow making me want to spill my heart to him.

"Amber," I whispered, lost in his eyes and lovely tone.

In a flash he'd rolled off of me and retreated to the other side of the room. I let out a deep breath I hadn't noticed I'd been holding as his spell broke, but the realization didn't hit me until a moment later.

I stared at him with wide eyes as I forced out a squeaky, "What did you do?"

He barely hesitated before replying, "It's called compulsion. It's a way of…controlling a human's mind."

My body protested as I heaved myself up to rest on my elbows, but I was too lost in the meaning of his words to bother about my faltering arms. He seemed to notice the distress in my gaze, because in an instant he darted to the side of the bed to stare down at me. However, this time I was prepared. I forced my body to roll around and slide off the furniture, but after failing somewhere in the middle of it, I ended up falling clumsily into a pile on the floor. I scrambled to my feet, refusing to let my weakness get in the way, but the monster was already in front of me, patiently watching my fierceness.

Without thinking, my hand went for his face, but like I should've known he caught my wrist before I could come even _remotely_ close to smacking his cheek. I tried staggering away from him as I saw a smoldering fire flare up in his dark gaze, but he easily matched my steps until my back was pressed against a cool wall.

I closed my eyes on instinct, expecting him to lash out. Behind the sound of my fast heartbeat in my ears, I heard him suck in a deep breath.

His voice was surprisingly calm as he then said, "I'm _not_ going to hurt you."

Slowly, I peeked up at him through my eyelashes. He towered over me, but his astonishing face was back to gentle.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he repeated, murmuring the words.

I wanted to believe him so badly, but I knew what he was and the lies he was bound to spread.

Quietly, I whispered, "Let go of me."

He stared at me for a long moment, his dark gaze holding me still, before he released my wrist and took a step back. My body remained tense for a moment before I made a bolt for the closest door, hurried into the room and locked myself in. I knew the click of the key wouldn't stop the monster from breaking it open, but it gave me some relief as I sank to the cold tile floor.

I sighed shakily as I glanced around, taking in the ridiculously big bathroom that was mixed with white and a lovely dark brown. My gaze landed on the polished surface of the pale toilet for a moment until it traced the way to the wooden benches with a sink detached to the middle one. A crystal clear mirror hung restlessly above. I gripped the handle of the door behind me to get up again before I slowly made my way over there, my heart beating faster with each step.

As I pulled to a stop in front of the mirror, it took me minutes just to realize that the woman in the reflection really was _me_. My cheekbones were awfully pronounced beneath my dirty, sun-burned skin – which had lost its smooth surface to scrapes and mild bruises – and my mouth was so pale and broken that I could barely detect the slight plumpness of my lower lip. There was something about my wide, dark brown eyes – a twinge of sadness and maturity that made me wonder how long I could've been out under the heating sun. I knew I hadn't looked anywhere near this awful the last time I'd seen my face.

I hesitantly turned the water on and tried adjusting the temperature; after a moment of failure, I scooped up a handful of iciness and splashed it over my face. I repeated the action several times, rubbing away the dirt between every round of water, until I let my fingers find a towel to dry my wet skin. I didn't care to see if I had left stains on the white fabric.

I shrugged out of the jacket I'd been loaned – it felt disgusting now that I knew what a cruel person its owner was – and let it drop to the floor, but I shot a glance at the closed door before my thin shirt joined. I saw, rather than felt, my mouth turn into a round 'O' as I got lost in the image of my slim chest, my gaze tracing my collarbone all the way to the end of my right shoulder and down to one of the arms that were hanging limply by my sides. Carefully, I pressed my fingers against the pointy edges of the ribs that were jugging out visibly beneath my skin. My hand slowly slid down to the pale area of where my waist drew in and to the sharply pronounced hipbone...

I couldn't take more.

With a frustrated sigh I turned my back on the mirror. I bent down to pick up my shirt, but my fingers were trembling with such intensity that it took me more than a minute to pull the garment on again. I forced my hands to be still before I continued my inspection of the room to forget the bony reflection of myself. There was an opening just a foot away from the sink and I slowly made my way around the wall to see what more the gigantic bathroom had to offer.

I gaped at the sight of the white bathtub, big enough for _at least_ two. It looked untouched where it rested, attached to the tile floor, but I could almost picture myself bathing in the huge amount of water it could contain.

Just a second later, the door knocked, followed by the monster's voice.

"Amber?"

I hated the way he said my name so beautifully. I folded my arms across my chest, keeping quiet.

"I know you're in there." I could imagine his irritation as I remained completely silent. "Can you unlock the door?"

I shook my head before I realized he couldn't see it.

A little squeak escaped me as the door swung open with a crack; of course he had to break it open. I couldn't stop from glancing up at the monster in shock as he stepped inside, his expression tired rather than annoyed. I took an unconscious step back as he stalked directly to where I stood, but he swiftly walked past me to the furniture I'd been admiring. In less than two seconds, the drain was blocked and a stream of water was trickling into the polished tub.

He finally looked up at me as he gracefully sat down at the edge of the bathtub; I didn't want to admit how frustratingly dashing he looked in his simple outfit of a soft gray sweater and jeans with the same dark color as his eyes. I held back a hiss of irritation as I turned to stomp out of the room, presuming that he was watching me so intently to hint that he wanted me to leave.

Surprisingly, a cold hand gripped my wrist tightly before I could take more than two steps.

I glanced back at the spot where he'd been sitting and gasped – startled – as I realized he was standing right behind me. I felt utterly helpless as he effortlessly moved me towards the bathtub, but my heart started pumping fiercely as I wondered if this was where my torture would begin.

"The bath is for you," he murmured, letting go of me as I stood a few inches from the water-filled tub. "I thought you'd like one."

I frowned in suspicion. "Why?" I asked cautiously.

"I figured it's been a tough day."

He said it so easily, as if it was common for his kind to help mine without craving something in return. I couldn't question him more before he darted out of the room, leaving the trashed door open for a tense second before he returned with something fluffy in his arms. After leaving it in the room, he vanished with a quiet thud of the closing door.

I waited for more than five minutes, just staring after him, before I dared stripping out of my clothes and stepping into the warm water.

* * *

><p>My fingers patted the soft material of the white robe I'd safely wrapped around my clean body. I was sitting awkwardly on the king-sized bed in the room I'd been brought to after the confrontation, and I'd had more than enough time to admire the design of the huge bedroom. It was decorated with earthy colors; the dark brown material of the bed's headboard, the paler tone of the wooden floor, the beige walls and the mildly patterned comforter I was using as shelter. The room was easy in a way, containing little furniture and lacking massive color explosions, but it was the simplicity of it that had me fascinated.<p>

I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting there – both waiting and dreading for the moment when the monster would return – but my blonde hair had almost dried. I couldn't possibly make my mind up about the monster's kindness; how was I supposed to believe that he wasn't just waiting for an opportunity to catch me off guard and finally show the viciousness I was waiting to see boiling in his eyes?

The door whined softly as it was pushed open, bringing me out of my frightening images. I looked down at the comforter that was covering me up to my shoulders just as the burr of dark mahogany hair was shown.

Speak of the devil.

"I brought you some food," he said. I could hear him close the door again.

My stomach growled loudly at the thought of eating and I pressed my lips tightly together in an attempt to suppress the hunger. From the corner of my eye I saw him step towards the bed and I felt the mattress shift as he sat down.

"You remember me, don't you?"

His words – gentle, but sure – made me glance up at him in surprise. He was watching me with soft patience in his dark gaze.

I managed to whisper, "The day of the attack."

He didn't say anything else as he lifted the tray he'd been holding in his hands and let it land on my hidden lap. I didn't even look down at the food; I knew already that I wasn't going to let myself touch it. Poison seemed like a death too easy for me to be offered, but I didn't doubt that they had access to other drugs.

"You should eat," he murmured, clearly waiting for me to move.

I buried myself deeper beneath the covers, giving him a clear _no_.

He watched me for a short moment before he took the tray again and placed it on the empty side of the bed. "It's not poisoned," he said as he turned back to me, half-heartedly trying to sway my decision. "I made sure of it."

Why would that make any difference to me?

He answered my unspoken question a moment later as he sighed, "I didn't kill you that day, Amber. I saved your life and I'll make sure it doesn't go to waste."

It wasn't until I heard _him_ say those words that I realized how wrong he was and what a fool I'd been to believe that he'd rescued me the last time I'd faced him.

"You didn't save my life," I said, my voice finally gaining strength. "You just made it even worse."

His face slowly drained of emotions, and a spark of fear threatened to flame up in me as I watched his cold expression. In a brief moment of panic, I wished he would decide to kill me instead of choosing a way of pain.

He opened his mouth to speak, and a little part inside of me relaxed as I noticed that his teeth were still straight and white. No fangs – yet. "I gave you three more years," he said, his voice quiet and somber.

My mind was blank. I choked on the words as I asked, "Three years?"

He frowned. "Yes. The day of the attack," – he used my description – "was three years ago."

Something burned inside of me as I felt my whole world scatter like a glass breaking into splinters. I'd spent _tree whole years_ running through the desert, slowly starving and wearing myself out. And for what? I'd never been able to save anyone; the only other human I'd met had turned out to be the death trap I'd been waiting for.

I stared emptily at the monster, feeling a vaguely familiar numbness trickle through my veins.

"You didn't know," he said, his voice almost a whisper.

My mind was locking down on instinct; I could almost _feel_ my face changing.

"Amber?" The monster's voice was a far-away sound. "Amber, can you hear me?"

I answered him by rolling over to my side, quietly looking at the sky outside the nearest window. His words were meaningless mumbles while I focused on the fading sunshine; I didn't even bother to shake his hand off as it landed on my shoulder.

Eventually he gave up, leaving me lying in the slowly darkening light.

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><p><strong>On an ending note: a review would make my day! :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, fine, I practically _always_ start my chapters with author's notes. Don't judge me.**

**So, this chapter isn't really one of my favorites and it's a bit shorter than the others, but almost all the stories I've read has those boring fillers. And I also wanted to point out that there _might_ occur some questions after you've finished this chapter - don't worry, though, everything will be explained in time. **

**Well, I hope you enjoy it anyways!**

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><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

_Tell me when you hear my heart stop,  
>you're the only one who knows.<br>Tell me when you hear my silence,  
>there's a possibility I wouldn't know.<em>

_(Lykke Li)_

Days passed before my empty eyes. I kept my gaze focused on the sky outside of the window, remaining as unchanging as I could be while the sun did its routine. I refused to eat the food I was offered, but after unsuccessful promptings, the monster started trying to use his compulsion to get nutrition into my still body. Once the comfortable warmth of his mind-trick had worn off, I went back inside my shell without raising so much as an eyebrow at him.

The thing was, as much as I was trying to keep myself shut down, the monster was just as eagerly attempting to bring me back to the unwanted reality. It was the only part of the endless days and nights that could make me feel _anything_, even though it was just a weak irritation that passed as soon as he left.

One of the many things I could hear him murmur to me was his disapproval of my choice of clothing. During the brief moments when I silently snuck into the bathroom and out, I'd gotten my rattled pieces of garment back on beneath the white fluffy robe I still wore. It wasn't just to keep myself warm; it was another layer of shelter from the mahogany-haired monster that, every night, slept just inches away. While his deep breaths sighed through the room, I lay tensely awake, just watching the streams of beautiful moonlight outside the window. My eyelids often closed for a moment, but I doubted more than a few minutes passed before they opened again to find the moon still shining in on me in a saddening manner.

I tried hard not to look at myself in the mirror whenever I washed my hands in the bathroom, but the sight of the weak dark circles under my eyes was unavoidable. The additions to my already worn face made me look older with each day that passed – a fact I wasn't sure whether to worry about or enjoy. Perhaps I would crumble away before the bites and strikes could start.

Both my physical and mental strength slowly fainted. I constantly found myself yawning and stretching to get rid of the troubling aching in my muscles during the days, while I would freeze to the point of trembling if I woke up from my drifting slumber with the comforter pushed down slightly. Several times my eyes opened to the sight of a shadow hiding in the corner of the room; it was always frightening enough to make me consider waking the monster up until the image abruptly vanished. If it wasn't the chilling hallucination, it was a long-lasting confusion that paralyzed me for minutes while I tried remembering where I was and what I was doing there.

The term 'sleep deprivation' managed to cut through the haze in my mind once or twice, but I didn't know what to make of the words. Eventually, the monster started bringing a brown-eyed human with him at a regular basis, which forced me to endure long moments of the stranger's warm fingers gently touching the bags under my eyes or gripping my limp wrist to check my pulse. Eventually I started listening as he asked the mahogany-haired monster questions, to which he silently answered while keeping his gaze intently focused on my face.

His irises seemed to grow darker with each day, their color fading as slowly as my life.

* * *

><p>"Has she been hallucinating lately?"<p>

"Yes."

"Has she eaten anything today?"

"Not much."

"You know she needs the nutrition. She's not gaining any weight."

"I can't compel her all the time, Thomas."

"You have to." There was a brief moment of silence. "I know you hate it, but it's that or letting her die."

I didn't even react, but the dark-eyed monster winced at the last word.

"You could be a bit more subtle," he said, mild anger clouding his usually soft voice.

The man – who was currently putting two fingers gently below my jaw, easily finding my unchanging pulse – calmly answered, "Dominic, I'm not here to pretend that she's alright. Perhaps you need to realize what's really going on here."

The mahogany-haired monster shot him an unreadable look and his voice sounded cold as he spoke again. "I think we're done here."

"She needs…"

"Get out."

The man – I counted him as a doctor – looked at me for a moment before he turned to say, "Fine."

I watched silently as he got up and left without another word. After the thud of the closing door was heard, I let my gaze trail to the window I'd grown used to watching, willingly turning my attention away from the person that stood a few feet away. From the corner of my eye I could see his jaw clench and unclench.

It only took him a minute to break the silence.

"Do you really want to die?"

The monster's voice made me glance back at him in surprise. His face showed exasperation, though there was a blaze of anger burning in his dark eyes. I couldn't understand why my fragile condition would make him feel anything but relieved. He'd be rid of me soon enough…

I shrunk back into the pillows as he darted to the bed, sitting down beside me in a flash.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, his tone quieter than before. "How can you be so ready to give your life up?"

His questions made me feel oddly uncomfortable and I found myself whispering, "Leave me alone."

He gritted his teeth for a long, tense moment before he relaxed and sighed, "I'm not going to leave you alone."

I looked back at the window in dismay. I should've realized that all I wanted – an easy ticket out of my numb misery – would be the last thing the monster would offer.

"Amber," he said just as I tried willing myself back into the space of emptiness I'd created in my mind. "Can't you see what you're doing to yourself?"

After an unsuccessful attempt to shut his voice out, I mumbled, "Yeah, I can."

He didn't seem pleased with my distant answer, because a second later he was standing up and blocking my view. I shot him a tired glance.

"Just tell me why you're doing this," he said, his voice edging between frustration and defeat.

I looked at him for a long moment, numbly watching his inhumanly black gaze and perfect alabaster skin, before I answered him by closing my eyes. At first he was silent, clearly waiting to see if I was going to speak, but as he finally realized I was denying him a break from his exasperation, I heard him stomp away.

The door was slammed shut so forcefully that I thought it was going to break.

* * *

><p>I woke up with a flinch.<p>

My whole body was shaking intensely and I realized a second later that it was because the thick comforter was kicked to the end of the bed. It took me surprisingly long to crawl across the mattress and I couldn't ignore the way my fingers trembled as I grabbed the soft, warm material. I felt dizzy as I tried dragging the comforter with me, and the covers dropped from my hand as I caught sight of the dark shadow that was hovering just by the door.

A gasp sang through the room; as I realized it had come from me, I quickly clamped my fingers over my mouth to keep quiet. The figure moved quickly and silently towards me, and I clumsily crept backwards until I hit my head against the headboard with a loud thud. In fear I glanced at the form beside me on the bed and for once I didn't care as I prepared to shout the monster's name.

"Shhh!" a quiet voice hushed me, stopping my panicked idea.

I squinted through the night's darkness at the person, realizing a second later that I wasn't hallucinating this time. I could just barely make out the sight of flat hair and a sharp nose, but the features had gotten so familiar during the past few days that I knew at once who the intruder was.

"It's just me," the doctor whispered, leaning closer to reveal a pair of dark, unblinking eyes. "Do you think you can stand up?"

I shook my head, and he hesitated for a moment before he wound an arm around my waist and carefully pulled me up from the soft furniture. I cringed away from the coldness that instantly soared around me, but the man – Thomas, I remembered – didn't seem bothered at all. I rested my arm around his shoulder for support as he started moving in direction of the bathroom; judging by how little my feet touched the ground, I understood that he was practically carrying me with him.

As soon as he'd helped me sit on the closed lid of the marble toilet, he rushed through the room to lock the newly fixed door and then to the sink to turn the water on. I frowned as he came to kneel in front of me, although it was a struggle to do anything but wrap the white robe around my trembling form. It was unbearably cold.

"Amber," Thomas quietly said. It was hard for my ears to catch his voice behind the sound of water trickling into the sink. "I don't have much time before Dominic wakes up, so you _need_ to listen to me."

He stared at me, his expression slightly bewildered, until I slowly nodded.

"I know that you're going through a very tough time," he started, his deep brown gaze locking with mine. "But you still have a life, Amber. You still have a chance to survive this war! Those down there, they don't have that choice."

"Who's _down there_?" I asked, my voice nothing but a weak whisper. It was the second time I'd heard someone use the phrase and if it wasn't for my numbness, I probably would've felt a familiar tingle of curiosity.

His face grew darker, but not in the way the monster's did. This was an expression of sadness, of worry for others. "The vampires can't survive without blood. Now, for some, blood bags are enough to tame the hunger, but it's often the _fresh_ taste of human blood that is preferred."

I swiftly remembered the mahogany-haired monster's words from the day when I'd been captured: '_She's not like the others. She's…fresh." _

Thomas continued without noticing the way my frown deepened. "You might think that they're killing all the humans, but what would they do without our blood?" His voice was growing a bit stronger as he spoke, filling with a disgust that made me realize he truly wasn't on _their _side. "They keep a few in the basement like live blood sources. The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm assigned to make sure they survive. It breaks my heart to see their pale faces, knowing that I can't do anything but give them food and tell them they'll be alright. But they won't be, not for much longer."

I didn't know if it was the awful meaning of his words or the way his voice cracked at the end, but I suddenly felt a familiar pressure behind my eyelids. Something wet trickled down my cheek a second later and Thomas surprised me by grabbing my hands tightly. The warmth of his skin made my stiff fingers relax.

"See?" he said, softer than before. "You can still _feel_, Amber. You can fight."

I shook my head as I mumbled, "I can't."

"You _can_. You just have to find your strength again."

"I don't have any left."

"Of course you do!" His brown eyes were wide and intense. "You're stronger than you can even consider. I know you lasted for more than _three years_ in the desert!"

Again, I shook my head. "That was before. Thomas," – it felt surprisingly normal to say his name – "I can't even sleep, not in a house filled with monsters and one lying right beside me!"

"That's because you can't remember _what_ you're fighting for. You need to find something worth living for or you'll go insane here."

I stared at him in exasperation and he squeezed my hands gently again.

"There's this woman they keep here," he said, quieter now. "She's barely lucid, but that little part of her brain that still functions normally is telling her not to give up. I've never seen anyone fight so hard for survival when it's practically out of reach."

"Why is she fighting?"

"She's fighting for a chance to see her daughter again."

Again, there was a pressure behind my eyelids. "But I don't have that sort of motivation. How I am supposed to fi—"

A hard knock on the door cut me off, and I gulped as my eyes darted to it and then back to the kind man in front of me. He whispered, "Don't be scared of _him_. Dominic can't be trusted with the knowledge of us fighting back, but he's one of the few good ones. Having him beside you is your best protection."

I was about to object, but he had the time to murmur, "Trust me."

A second later the door was wrenched open with a harsh crack. In the doorway stood the monster, his black eyes sleepy and his dark mahogany hair rustled in a way that was stunningly stylish, considering the fact that he'd just woken up. With the numbness fading with each second, my hormones were starting to kick in; I suddenly wondered what I looked like to him, messily wrapped up in the white robe with my cold, fragile hands clutched in Thomas'.

"What's going on?" he asked almost grumpily, his eyes shifting between the two of us.

Thomas turned to him, his eyes free of fear. His courage was inspiring. "I was just trying to finish my examination of the day."

The monster blinked away his sleepiness before he focused his dark gaze on my face. I could feel my eyes widen as he stepped inside to kneel down by the doctor, and my heart raced faster as his hand slowly lifted to touch my cheek. His icy fingers made me flinch away.

"What did you do?" he asked, obviously not speaking to me.

Thomas' voice was calm as he answered, "She just needed someone to help her break through."

The monster's hand vanished a second later. "Well, thank you. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate."

I glanced at Thomas in fear, but he only smiled warmly at me before he stood and turned to leave. As he reached the doorway, he discreetly turned to mouth, "_Fight._" I nodded quickly.

The monster in front of me got up gracefully a moment later. A hand reached my way would've been enough for me, but I was scooped up in his cold arms before he walked us back to the bed. After he'd carefully let me down, I quickly pulled the comforter over my shivering body just as the mattress shifted under another weight. For once, I rolled over onto my other side to face the monster that was already resting on his elbow, watching me quietly.

I stared back at him for a moment before I closed my eyes, not fully ready to speak while seeing his gaze scrutinize my face. In the complete darkness of the inside of my eyelids, I murmured, "Thanks." I paused and he waited patiently until I added, "For keeping me alive."

He obviously didn't hear the hidden meaning behind my words – that with life comes the strength I would need if I was going to get out of there – because he remained silent. I snuggled into the faint warmth of the pillow as Thomas' voice echoed quietly in my head: '_Having him beside you is your best protection._'

For the first time in days, I fell asleep with my heart pounding slowly to a feeling of something remotely close to safety.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, and two more things. First of all: no, Dominic is not bipolar. I promise. And second, this button here below... Yeah, that one. If you press it and type a review, it'll make my day ;)<br>**


	5. Chapter 5

**Whoop whoop, I managed to update before three full weeks could pass. And yes, to me that is an accomplishment.  
>I should however not be logged in here on , writing this meaningless little author's note. What I <em>should<em> be doing is going to bed straight away and thereby get a good night's sleep before I, in the morning, have to endure the officially first part of the (roughly translated from Swedish) National tests. So I'll make this short:  
>1. I hope you enjoy the chapter, even though it definitely isn't one of my favorites.<br>2. I'll try to update fast, since I really enjoyed writing chapter six and I can't wait to see if you react as I assume you will.  
>3. Reviews would totally bring me good luck for the test(s) this week.<strong>

**Alright, I'll shut up now. ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FIVE<strong>

_I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war,  
>if you can tell me something worth fighting for.<em>

_(Coldplay)_

I sat cross-legged on the bed, slowly picking my way through the food that was stacked on the tray in front of me. The monster was standing by the window I'd been obsessed with mere days ago, intently reading the unfamiliar-looking newspaper in his hands. I was slowly growing used to his constant presence; it was easy in the way of how he accepted my silence when I chose it just as goodly as I learned to adjust to being near him when he wanted to be around. There were moments when the curiosity would bubble in me and I'd come up with questions like '_How many of you are there?_' or '_When did it all start?_'. He was mostly hesitant, giving me nothing but short and few answers. It was a struggle not to complain.

The only part I didn't dare ask him about – and also the one thing I couldn't let go – was how it was possible that his eyes had swiftly changed from black to a crimson red. I wondered if he noticed how I struggled not to wince whenever he looked at me or how I wished his blood-red iris—

I gulped, almost choking on the scrambled eggs I'd stuffed into my mouth, as the realization struck me. Thomas had specifically told me how they couldn't survive without blood; how could I have missed that detail when pondering the reason why this monster looked so different?

"Are you alright?"

I glanced up to find him watching me with his perfect, dark eyebrows raised questioningly. I bit my lip as I shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant. He stared doubtingly at me.

"Is it the food?" he guessed, clearly seeing through my fake casualness. "I promise you, it's not poi—"

"It's nothing."

He still didn't believe me; I could see it in his motions as he folded the newspaper and walked closer to drop it just at my feet. "I know you don't trust me," he said. I held back an agreeing snort. "But if something's bothering you, you can tell me."

I hesitated, but I wanted an answer more than I wished for him to drop it. Finally, I quietly asked, "Do you feed on them a lot?"

The monster frowned. "What?"

"The humans you keep here. Do you feed on them?"

"How did you…" With a sigh, his red eyes cleared of confusion. "Thomas told you, didn't he?"

"No," I lied.

"Amber…"

I folded my arms across my chest, looking away from him as I muttered, "I would've found out anyway."

I heard him mumble something that sounded like 'I swear, that man can be a piece of work of sometimes', but I ignored him as I leaned back against the headboard. The room was silent for a moment before I, from the corner of my eye, saw the monster move in the direction of the door. I looked back at him in surprise.

"You didn't answer my question," I said, stopping him just as his hand touched the handle.

He half-turned to me as he replied, "Anya will be here in a few minutes to drop some clothes off. Don't worry, she's harmless."

I frowned as I prepared to object to his diversion, but a second later he was gone and the door was closed. I sat motionless for a minute, just staring after him in disbelief, before something snapped inside of me. He couldn't honestly expect me to sit around and wait for an unknown monster to drop in. I _wouldn't_.

Thomas had – during the few moments when he was called to make sure my health wasn't turning for the worse – slowly introduced the plan he'd arranged to make a strike back at the monsters. It was rare that the mahogany-haired monster left the room, which mostly had me winding up with an hour of having to hear the doctor mumble assuring '_You're looking better with each day_'and '_There doesn't seem to be any mental illness_'. I still didn't know more than that Thomas wanted me out of the building, frequently claiming that I was the only one who would be able to run again.

I carefully let my feet touch the cool wooden floor, nervousness slipping into my system and stirring a swirl of butterflies into motion in the pit of my stomach. I could still remember the warning the leader had spoken on the day of my unfortunate capture, but as I recalled the way he had used the word '_it_', a rush of disgust quickly surged through me.

"Fight," I muttered under my breath, convincing myself that I had the strength I needed.

I hurried around the room, scanning the wardrobe for a backpack and then searching for objects I would need to last until I reached the nearest town. There were a few shirts that didn't look _too_ big for me and I stuffed them into the bag without hesitating. He wouldn't miss them.

I was just in my way of checking through the backpack a last time, making sure the only missing thing was food, when two demanding knocks on the door brought me out of my determined mode. I squeaked in surprise as I heard the door click open, and in a moment of frenzy, I ducked down to throw the bag in under the bed. As I looked up again, huffing in relief, a beautiful woman stood in the doorway, watching me with obvious curiosity.

Her shiny hazel brown hair hung in elegant, big curls over her shoulders and ended a few inches above her slim waist. With skin flawless and pale as alabaster, her big shimmering, red eyes stood out even more; I was surprised to find that her thick, black lashes and sweetly innocent expression made the ruby color fit.

There was something about her stance – a hand on the hip and her head cocked mildly to the side – that made her look young and impatient, but her mildly foreign features took away any childish note. At her feet, which were clad with a pair of delicate high-heeled shoes, lay a big pile of clothes that looked as expensive as the ones she was wearing.

As she spoke, her voice was a lovely chime, yet I could almost sense that it had once hinted of a different accent. It was no more than a soft echo in her words, but my senses – sharpened during my days in the desert – caught her odd pronouncement of the _r_ in my name.

"You must be Amber," she said, smiling genuinely.

I got up from my kneeling position to sit at the edge of the bed, attempting to lead her attention away from the hiding place. Cautiously, I watched her as she bent down to pick the clothes up and then walked into the room with light and graceful steps. I didn't know what to say as she opened the top drawer of the bureau by the wardrobe and started re-folding the garments neatly before letting them find a place in the box.

"I'm Anya, by the way," she said, shooting me a glance over her shoulder.

Even with her red eyes briefly focused on my face, I honestly couldn't find it in me to fear her.

"You don't have to give away your clothes," I mumbled.

She half-turned to eye me skeptically. "And let you wear a _bath robe_?" After I shrugged, she softly added, "Besides, they're not really mine. I just picked them out for you."

I frowned. "Where?"

"What?"

"Where did you buy them?" I asked, flinching mildly as she spun to lock her ruby eyes with mine. I glanced away before I added, "I mean, aren't you ruining everything?"

She laughed beautifully. "Ruining everything?"

"Yeah." I looked back at her and was surprised to see her humored expression. "You're destroying every town, killing almost all the humans…"

"Oh, Amber," she sighed, saying my name like I was an acquaintance. "You'll have to take that conversation with Dominic."

I felt a weak stir of disappointment as she turned back around to fold a pair of pale blue jeans. If I was unable to rely on _this _woman for an explanation, there was no way in hell I was getting a straight answer out of my captor.

After a minute of silence, Anya – there wassomething oddly familiar about her that made it hard to think of her as a monster – swiftly spun on her heels to throw clothes my way. They landed perfectly beside me, but I didn't have time to inspect them before she flopped down on the bed. I blinked in surprise at our close proximity. Her moves were so different from the mahogany-haired monster; ever since I'd started recovering, he'd been extremely careful around me, as if he was afraid one accidental touch would scatter both me and my regaining strength. Anya, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the way my eyes widened at the short distance between us.

"So," she said, softly but conversationally. "I hear you were trying to kill yourself."

"What?" I gasped.

She smiled again, mild amusement twinkling in her red eyes. "Vampires gossip like old ladies."

I felt both surprised and embarrassed, but those emotions quickly faded as the words of the leader echoed in my mind. '_If it does a single little thing to bother me or anyone else, I will kill it_'. If he'd found out about my – though unsuccessful – way of trying to give up life…

Anya seemed to notice my distress, because a moment later she lightly said, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. _Riley_," – her voice turned surprisingly sour at the pronouncement of his name – "can be difficult, but I doubt he's even cared enough to find out about this."

"And if he has?"

"Then he's probably just disappointed you snapped out of it." A mildly regretful expression flickered across her face before she added, "No offense."

"None taken."

She seemed pleased as she said, "You're brave. I like it."

"I'm not," I objected. "I just don't get offended when I hear that monsters don't like me."

"Ouch."

I realized my slip then and weakly tried to mimic her perfect voice as I said, "No offense."

A cute laughter left her lips; it sounded like a small chime of bells. The amusement was clear in her voice as she asked, "Really, though? _Monsters_?"

I shrugged and she chuckled again, more to herself.

After the sound of it had faded into silence, she lightly sighed before she said, "I should let you get dressed before your monster returns."

I was shocked to find that I didn't want her to leave.

She patted my leg gently – I didn't even squirm away from her surprisingly warm fingers – and stood in one swift, graceful move. In embarrassment of my unwanted contentment, I looked down at the clothes beside me while I heard the clicking of her heels against the wooden floor.

"Oh, Amber?" As I glanced back at her, she stood in the doorway with her body half-turned to me. Her sweet smile had turned into a smirk. "I won't tell Dominic about that bag under the bed if you don't use it."

I gaped after her as she swished away.

* * *

><p>The cold metal of the stethoscope felt freezing against my warm skin. The tank top I'd reluctantly tugged on after Anya had left was pushed up to reveal my back to the doctor behind me, allowing him to check my unwavering health. A light shiver trembled down my spine, and a second later Thomas pulled the instrument away to neatly fold it into his bag.<p>

"Everything sounds good," he said as he shuffled around to sit in front of me. "Have you experienced any headaches?"

"Nope," I sighed.

"Have you had difficulty sleeping?"

I shook my head.

A new expression flashed across his face before he nonchalantly asked, "Have you done what I've requested?"

In shock, I glanced at the monster; he stood by the window again, his arms folded across his chest and his face absentminded as he stared out into the night. I knew he could still pick up the sounds of anything suspicious, so I looked back at Thomas with warning eyes.

He studiously ignored my gaze. "Remember, I told you to rest much so that you can build up your strength…?"

It took me a meaningful glance from him to realize what he was really asking: had I prepared the things I would need before heading back out into the desert?

"Oh, sure," I said, managing to sound remotely casual. "I've done everything you wanted me to."

"Good." He zipped his bag close and flashed me a smile that made him look ten years younger. "In a few days you won't need to be checked up on so regularly."

Translation: in a few days I was getting out of there.

My heart skipped a beat; the monster instantly turned to me.

"Great," I mumbled, struggling with the weight of the new gaze on my face.

Thomas got to his feet, ready to go. "Sleep well, Amber. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded in response. On his way to the door, he strode past the monster to murmur, "Good night".

As soon as the door closed after him, I got up to walk over to the bureau, still ignoring the heavy gaze I could feel prickling on my back. With jerky moves I got the top drawer out and started searching it for something comfortable enough to sleep in. My fingers traced both soft and harsh fabric and I felt a mild illness in me as I remembered my question about where the clothes had come from. Had they been found in a wardrobe of someone's abandoned home? Ripped off of newly killed humans?

My vision was growing blurry enough that I didn't detect the shadow coming closer until a hand landed gently over mine where it was slackly gripping a striped sweater. I instinctively shook it off while I blinked away the tears, but my eyes were still unclear as I looked up at the monster.

"Did something happen while Anya was here?" he asked, sounding worried.

I only shook my head, afraid that if I opened my mouth, a tiny sob would slink out.

He frowned. "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not," I mumbled in objection, swallowing back the lump that had started building in my throat.

His finger touched my cheek ever so lightly; the surprisingly warm touch sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. As he pulled his hand back, there was a drop of water glistening against his pale skin.

"I believe that is a tear," he murmured, staring at his finger with an unreadable look on his face.

I turned back to the clothes before I muttered, "It's nothing."

"Well, I never believe you when you say that."

I found a white, long-sleeved shirt on top of a pair of pajamas pants that were checked with different colors of dark blue and light gray. His hand sneaked back in place as he noticed I was shrugging away from the situation.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I didn't like how near his body was to mine or the feeling of his fingers resting just below my wrist. I quickly pulled my hand away from his as I said, "Don't touch me."

"Don't avoid my question."

I scoffed. "Oh, as if you don't avoid mine."

"You're right." His voice was turning softer, easily finding its way back to the usual velvet tone. "I didn't give you an answer before."

I looked up at him, unsure where he was going with this. It disturbed me how close his shimmering red eyes were. "Are you offering one now?" I asked.

He seemed to deliberate for a moment before he said, "If you tell me what's bothering you, I'll think about it."

"Are you seriously trying to make a bargain?"

He shrugged.

"Well, then, I'm not interested," I muttered.

I tried to push past him, but as he stepped even closer I winded up stumbling backwards into the bureau instead. The harsh edge of the furniture stabbed into my lower back, causing a tiny whimper to slink out. His red gaze had me trapped.

"Fine," I breathed. My heart was pumping fiercely enough that I had to clear my throat twice just to make my voice sound normal again. "I wanna know where you got these clothes from."

An incredulous expression took place on his face. "Are you telling me," he started slowly, "that you're crying because you want to know where Anya bought your clothes?"

He made it sound silly, so I added, "I wanna know if you've stolen them from the people you've killed."

"What?" he spluttered, his tone breaking free from its steadiness.

It was hard to come off as tough while having to look upwards to glare at him. The color of his eyes made me want to creep into one of the drawers behind me and lock myself in, but I kept myself in place, even if that decision had me pressed up against an uncomfortable piece of furniture.

"Amber." He paused as if to think through how to make his point. "Anya bought these clothes from stores. She went there, picked them out and paid for them. No stealing, no murdering."

I frowned a little. "And where are these supposed stores?"

I was a bit surprised at how I could speak with his gaze scrutinizing my brown one.

"There's much you don't know," he calmly said.

"I have all night."

He didn't seem swayed by my stubbornness. "No, you don't. Or, perhaps you would like another week of Thomas checking up on you?"

"He wouldn't. I'm fine now."

He objected again. "No, you're _getting_ fine. There's a difference."

I was fuming inside, curiosity getting the better of me. "Look, you're the one that's keeping me locked up in here – you better tell me what's going on outside that door!"

His eyebrows arched as he heard my tone, but he sounded just as smooth as before as he said, "I think you remember that Thomas told you not to get worked up."

"Ugh," I groaned as I managed to break free from my tense position and stomp towards the bed. As I flopped down and turned to scowl at him, he'd spun around to watch me with a look of surprise.

"Why do you really want to know?" he asked.

"Because I want the truth!" I drew a hand through my long rustle of blonde hair to get it out of my face. "Just _once_, can I get a clear answer?"

He sighed and shook his head before he smoothly picked up the pajamas I'd grabbed earlier. I watched him quietly as he walked over to let it drop on my lap.

"Get dressed." It sounded more like a suggestion than an order. "You need to rest."

His way of denying me the answers I was searching for set fire to my irritation. I gripped the soft material in my hands as I got up to march the way to the bathroom. Just before I slammed the door shut, I caught a glimpse of him retreating to the bureau to pick out his own clothes, either oblivious to my frustration or just ignoring it.

I stepped out of my shorts – I'd refrained from wearing any of the pair of jeans Anya had given me – and quickly pulled the soft pants on instead. I still hadn't gotten used to having to get my shirt off while the monster could break the door open at any moment, so I made a clumsy attempt to let it hug my torso while I tugged the white sweater on. It probably took way more time than the few seconds I'd had to spend if I'd just gotten the tank top off first.

The fierceness I'd felt burning in the pit of my stomach had already melted away when I stepped out of the bathroom a while later, and it had no reason to bubble up again as I detected the quite familiar burr of dark mahogany hair resting on a pillow on the bed. He had the comforter draped over him, but I could detect the sight of his bare shoulders, giving away the surprising fact that he was shirtless.

This discovery made me feel awkward as I hesitantly snuck around to my side of the large bed and crept underneath the covers. With a tiny sigh I rolled around, but the sound got stuck in my throat as I found the monster's piercing gaze intently focused on my face.

"Jeez," I gasped.

His eyes widened just the slightest.

I glanced away from his blood-red irises to make it easier for my heartbeat to slow down from its sudden increase of speed. Even with my own sight focused on a spot on the ceiling, I could feel his gaze boring into the cheek that was turned his way.

"What?" I muttered.

"Do you still want an answer?" he asked, softly and quietly.

He had my full attention in an instant.

"You're actually going to give me one?" I retorted, looking back at him in expectation.

"Only if you're fully sure you want it."

"Why wouldn't…"

He interrupted me. "You might feel curiosity now, but remember what you're asking me."

I thought it through for a moment, pondering if I really wanted to know how often he tortured the poor humans that were stuck in the basement or how it was possible that shops still existed when they were meant to ruin them all.

Finally, I said, "I still want the truth."

"You think you do." His voice was a whisper now. "But you don't."

I wasn't sure if he was snatching his offer back, so I just waited impatiently while I watched different emotions flicker across his face. Eventually, a dim sadness settled.

"Which one do you want me to answer?"

I didn't need to think it through. "The one about the humans."

He sighed quietly. "Alright." There was a brief pause. "Yes, I feed on them. Not often, but after a while it's inevitable. If there was another choice, I wouldn't touch them ever again."

I swallowed loudly. "Why?"

"_Why_?" he repeated, his eyes glistening with what I could only interpret as distaste. "What they're being put through… I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

My mouth plopped open as I felt a tiny part of my hatred towards him ease and scatter into nothingness. I couldn't detect any falseness in neither his voice nor his expression, and for once, I actually believed it to be true. I trusted most of Thomas' opinions, and he'd told me that this vampire was one of the few good ones. Could it really be true?

It took me a moment to realize that I'd used the term vampire instead of monster.

He seemed to catch my inner distress as he gently said, "I'll let you process that one first. I can answer your other question another time."

I blinked away my surprise before I slowly nodded, grateful that he had at least given a reply to the most itching one. His eyes closed a moment later and I followed his lead, wanting to be rid of the sight of him while my mind was still trembling with the aftershock of wedging the door to accepting his existence just a little more open. 'Vampire' was far softer than 'monster', and his answer had somehow managed to earn him the promotion.

The one thing it didn't change, though, was the fact that I was leaving him – as well as all my other problems – behind in the matter of a few days.


	6. Chapter 6

******Prepare yourself for a bit of action (_finally_)! **

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SIX<strong>

_I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't,_  
><em>so here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road.<strong><br>**And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope,_  
><em>it's a shot in the dark and right at my throat.<em>

_(Florence + the Machine)_

The night was filled with anticipation. I could feel it in my blood, pumping through my veins like shots of adrenaline and surging through every cell and nerve. My heart was in a struggle between breaking into a sprint and staying in the calm _thump-thump_ I was trying to will it into with my imitation of the deep, regular breathing of the vampire beside me. The tips of my fingers were tingling faintly, impatiently waiting for the moment when they would slide in under the bed to find the packed bag.

A soft nudge on the door sent a jolt of excitement throughout my body, but I managed to keep my movements slow and cautious as my feet found the floor. I bit my lip as I carefully stood, knowing the shifting of the mattress could give me away, but there was no change in the vampire's sleep. Relieved, I bent down and silently pulled the backpack out from its not-so-excellent hiding place, only barely managing to stop it from scraping audibly against the wooden surface beneath.

As I stood again, I let the bag touch the floor while I quietly got out of the pajamas until I was standing in the black tights and white, loose tank top I'd secretly put on beneath. I tip-toed across the room to the wardrobe; after letting my fingers trace the racks of clothes within it, I pulled out what looked like a sweatshirt of soft material. Though it was several sizes too big for my petite form, it would keep me warmer than the clothes I'd been given.

The thought of Anya's constant drop-ins – each time with new offers and even more genuine smiles – reminded me of the flat ankle boots I'd put by the bureau. They were definitely not made for running, but in comparison to the worn sneakers I'd used the last time I'd been out in the baking sun, they would suffice. I lazily tied the knots to keep them comfortably tight around my feet and then the last step was to strap the backpack on.

Finally, after casting one last cautious glance over my shoulder, I got the door open, and was instantly greeted with the sight of Thomas' dimly lit face. The expectation in his dark gaze was similar to the one I felt tingling inside.

Aware of the supernatural hearing behind me, he said nothing as he held up a big, brown bag I assumed was keeping the food he'd said he would sneak out of the kitchen. I turned to let him stuff it into the backpack, his moves so careful that the paper material barely made a sound. As I spun again, he smiled mildly before he grabbed my hand to gently tug me down the hallway. I didn't shoot a single glance back, knowing the only thing my gaze would find was the sight of an immortally beautiful man who I didn't doubt would be…_unpleasant_ if he found me in this moment.

My palm got slightly sweaty as Thomas and I reached the grand staircase that swung elegantly towards the first floor, but I was given no chance to turn back before I was hurrying down the steps. Thomas pulled me to a swift stop at the bottom of the stairs, his brown eyes focusing on mine like I was growing used to them doing. They were too pure and sweet to make me uncomfortable.

"This is where we part," he whispered. "I wish you the best of luck, Amber."

I felt an odd emotion swell inside of me and, before I could shove the sudden sadness back, I clutched myself to him in a tight hug. His support was what had kept me going these past days; how would I be able to return to the emptiness I hated suffering through without him?

His hand patted my back in a manner that reminded me painfully much of my father. It only made the separation tougher as I finally leaned back.

"Take care, Thomas," I murmured.

"You, too, my dear," he answered softly, a gentle and encouraging smile on his lips.

I broke free and cast him a last glance, memorizing the faintly graying strands of hair and the deep, wise gaze that held mine before he turned to disappear into the shadows of the night. I tried to find his form in the darkness for a brief moment, but as the only thing greeting me was silence, I understood he had returned to where he was supposed to be. Despite my wish to have him come with me, I respected the fact that he could not let the vampires know of his opposed beliefs.

'_Not vampires. Monsters_', I corrected myself with a mental groan.

My heartbeat increased in fierceness as I turned to find my own escape and the harsh thumping sent out enough adrenaline to make me feel brave and sure in my decision as I strode towards my exit.

The large door, placed on the wall farthest from me, was made out of dark iron, but the locks on it were of silver and impressively huge. _Unlocking_ it would be the real difficulty compared to how easy it had been to reach it. I tried to stifle an irritated mutter as my fingers lifted to touch one of the chains, but it came out in a surprised whisper as my wrist was caught in a warm grasp. I couldn't stop from gasping as I was spun around, though all the air left my body as I was roughly slammed against the hard wall beside the door. The contents of my bag dug into my bag and I grunted as I felt the pain prickle in my back. My head ached uncomfortably.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" a familiar voice asked quietly.

As my mind registered the male tone, I quickly tried to duck under the strong arms and make a leap for the room I'd been captive in for weeks. I'd rather give up my fight than stand a single minute with the person that had me cornered.

"Oh, don't start," Cody sighed as he shoved me back against the cold surface behind me.

"Let go of me," I growled, momentarily forgetting the fact that I was supposed to be quiet.

"Hey, now, don't wake them all up."

"I don't care!"

I struggled as his hands gripped my shoulders to hold me still against the wall, and a slight satisfaction settled as I saw how bothered he seemed by the way I fought back.

"Can you just be still?"

I tried refusing further, but after a moment of him holding me to the wall and me trying to push back, I unwillingly admitted to myself that his strength easily outweighed mine. With a frustrated sigh, I slumped back in a hint of giving up. He didn't trust my surrender enough to ease his grip.

"What do you want?" I whispered. I was slowly starting to realize what trouble I'd be in if I woke the vampire up.

"You mean, besides stopping you from getting yourself killed?" Cody asked with his eyebrows raised as if to put emphasize how stupid my actions were.

I glared at him. "_I mean_, besides stopping me from escaping. Which I _really_ hopeyou're not doing."

He ignored the last part as he said, "I wanna know what they've done to you."

"Huh?"

"Has he bitten you?"

"N—"

I was cut off as he retracted one hand from my shoulder to quite roughly push away the hair from my neck. I gasped in surprise as he just as firmly looked at the other side, searching for bite marks that never had existed there.

I tried shrugging away from him, but that only made my head bump against the wall again. As the pain softened, I hissed, "Will you stop? No one's bit me!"

"He must've compelled you."

"It's not like that."

Cody's eyes hardened as they bored into mine. "Are you hearing yourself? This is what they do, Amber, they get under your skin and brainwash you!"

This time, he was the one having trouble keeping his voice down.

"Well, I haven't been brainwashed, alright?" I felt a stir of hatred as I intensified my glare. "And since when you even care? You're the one that gave me in, remember?"

"I told you I was sorry."

I couldn't stop from laughing quietly in disbelief. "You _honestly_ thought that was going to make up for it? You thought a little 'Sorry' would make up for the fact that you _offered me for your own survival_?"

The last words came out as a fierce growl.

He leaned in closer, either trying to intimidate me or make me lower my voice. No matter his reason, I only kept scowling at him. "I had no choice," he said, quieter than before. "You would've done the same if you were in my place."

"No, _I_ would've started with not working for them!"

His blue eyes were storming with emotions. Their innocence seemed all but washed away, replaced with the immorality and scorn the monsters had stuffed him with.

Still, he sounded surprisingly much like the man I'd met in the desert as he replied, "You have no idea why I'm doing it. If you give me a chance to just _explain _my—"

"I'm not giving you a chance to do anything."

He clenched his jaw while a bitter anger settled on his face. A voice in the back of my head was muttering at me how stupid I was for provoking another side of him but the soft one I recalled from weeks ago, but I was too enraged myself to hold back my snapping.

"Tell me something," Cody said. His tone made it clear that the remains of his patience were close to breaking, too. "Did you really think you'd be able to survive out there for much longer? Or that you'd be able to run away now?"

For a moment, I sincerely considered spitting him in the face.

But what left my lips were words that would sting more.

"Tell me something," I hissed, using his phrase back at him. "Did you turn your little sister in as well?"

I didn't have time to react to his hurt face before he slammed his fist against the wall, just inches away from my head. My eyes widened in shock at the same time as a tiny squeak left me. A slight fear was starting to creep through the corners of my mind.

"You have _no_ _idea_ what you're talking about," he growled.

My breathing grew short and fast while I wished I could melt into the cool surface I was pressed up against. I was suddenly far more frightened of this part of Cody – the same scary one he'd shown on the day when he'd traded me for his own existence – than the mahogany-haired vampire.

As if on cue, the angry man in front of me was slung backwards; I winced at the sound of his body crashing into the wall to the right from where I was pressed up. A shaky breath left my lips as I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head before he slumped to the floor, and I felt my body shiver against the cold surface behind me.

A movement in the corner of my vision made my gaze dart to the person that was standing a foot away. His eyes – they looked nearly onyx in the dim moonlight shining in from the closest window – where filled with a surprising disdain as they watched the unconscious human, but for some reason I knew his hands were curled into fists because of the trembling form of me. He was still in his gray sweats and black T-shirt, announcing that he'd shuffled out of bed aware of my attempt to run away and how scarce the time to catch up with me was.

The reason for his knowledge stood just a few inches behind him, watching me with dark and innocently wide eyes. Apologies were written all over her face.

"You told him," I whispered, unable to find my voice.

"I'm sorry," Anya said, honest regret ringing through her words.

The mahogany-haired vampire's gaze darted to her a second later. His voice was unusually cold as he asked, "You knew about this _before_?"

She fidgeted, obviously uncomfortable. "I knew she was planning on it, not that she would go through with it."

"Of course she'd go through with it."

"I told you, alright?"

"Anya, if that…_boy_ hadn't showed up, it would've been too late."

"Well, be glad he did then."

Their low argument gave me time to relax from my stiff position and quickly deliberate whether it was worth it to sneak towards the door or not. Anya was still turned so that she could catch sight of my movements, but she was not the one who reacted as I took a tiny step in the direction of the only exit. In a flash, the vampire was standing right in front of me, the look in his eyes – which I could now see were a deep, crystal-clear ruby color – instantly putting a stop to my idiotic plan.

"You're one step from having Riley barging in," he said in a hushed, but cool tone, sending a meaningful glance up at the ceiling. "Don't cross that last line."

I looked back at Anya, but she was watching the vampire in front of me as if she was afraid he would snap. I wasn't ready to give up my fight, not when standing _so close_ to the door that could lead me back to the desert and the life I'd had for three years. No matter how excruciating the experience had been, I was starting to realize that I'd do just about anything to get it back as long as it meant that I'd be free from the living nightmare I'd endured for weeks.

"I'm making it easy for you," the vampire said, trying to catch my gaze as it flickered restlessly between the three people in the room and the exit.

"He is," Anya quietly agreed. "I know I told you not to worry about Riley, but this will upset him."

I folded my arms across my chest. "Let him come if he wants. I don't care."

They both saw through my lie, but their responses to it were different. Anya just sighed a quiet "Don't underestimate him", while the vampire in front of me gripped my wrist painfully tightly to start tugging me with him, moving toward the staircase I'd stumbled down mere minutes ago. In my earlier haste, I hadn't noticed that there was an identical one twisted to the opposite side, creating the image of the entrance of a castle. I struggled as well as I could to stay there, stretching my body in the other direction and locking my feet to the marble floor, but the vampire's strength only had me gliding with him.

Anya appeared on my other side, her face in a surprisingly deep frown.

"I think Riley heard," she whispered.

I nearly tripped over my feet as the vampire sped up, forcing my fight to stop. Tears of frustration sprung to my eyes as I glanced over my shoulder at Cody's unmoving body, mentally cursing him for ruining my only chance at escaping. If I hadn't hated him before, he was definitely in for a life-time of being my number one sworn enemy…

My furious thoughts were interrupted as my backpack was pulled off. I didn't have time to object before I was scooped up in a pair of nearly familiar arms, but I made a last effort to be put back down again. I could already imagine the precautions that would be taken next; several locks on the door, an alarm that detected any sign of movement, perhaps even a bell around my neck… His options were many.

Without forcing me to stop throwing careless punches at his distractingly hard chest, the vampire took off in a speed that whipped my face and made my vision blurry. My body slammed against him as he pulled to a stop a mere second later, and as I glanced around with a frown, I realized we hadn't gotten further than up the stairs. A gasp slinked out before I could even think about suppressing it when my gaze landed on the person that was standing a foot away, his whole stance reeking of irritation. I flinched even closer to the vampire holding me to get away from the glistening red eyes that were focused on me.

"Riley," the mahogany-haired one said cautiously. "We were just leaving."

The leader pursed his lips, annoyance seeping into his frightened gaze. His voice was low and cold as he answered, "I don't think so."

I felt my stomach drop to the floor as the fear – the one I should've experienced the _second _someone had mentioned his name – came crawling into my mind.

The leader continued a beat later with, "I believe I told you the conditions for its stay here."

"Oh, say the word, Riley," Anya stepped in angrily. "_She_, not _it_."

I glanced at her in mild gratitude. She didn't notice, though; her dark eyes were focused on the monster in front of us, who I could sense was starting to fume.

"Be a doll and stay out of this, Anastasia," the leader spat back. My eyebrows arched just the slightest as I heard the name he used.

She glared at him for a long moment, hatred showing on both her face and in her stance, but eventually she stepped back with a sense of reluctant obedience. The vampire holding me let me to my feet, but only to push me back so that I was partly hidden by his tense body. Like during the days when I'd deprived myself of both food and sleep, I couldn't understand the protective mode he went into when my life was in danger. The difference between the two scenarios was that I now really appreciated how he lingered between me and the impatiently waiting monster.

"Step aside," the leader nearly growled, true anger slipping through the cracks of his sharp features.

The vampire remained steady in front of me, neither moving nor speaking.

"I have to say," the monster continued, his voice slowly shifting back into a cool and empty tone. "Choosing a _human_ over you own kind, that's a risky matter." The leader drifted closer with graceful, but deadly steps as he spoke. "Too bad it's not as brave as it is foolish."

I gasped as a chilling crack echoed through the entrance and a wave of panic crashed through me as I watched my – as he currently was – protector fall to the floor with a loud thud. I sank down beside him in an instant, but my fingers stopped in their tracks of reaching out to touch his shoulder as a well-known memory flickered through my mind. My father's face, blank and dead…

"I wouldn't worry." I glanced up as the monster stepped towards me, and fear rippled through me as I realized I was helpless. "He will awake in a while."

My gaze darted to Anya for a brief moment; her eyes were wide with uncertainty and fear as she stared at the body by my side. I was distracted from the look on her face as a strong hand grabbed my upper arm, the warm fingers practically overlapping, and roughly yanked me up from the marble floor. A whimper escaped my lips as the leader tugged me across the vampire's still form and down the corridor I now knew would lead me back to the room I'd spent weeks in.

He stopped to turn half-ways, his red gaze locking on the woman he was leaving behind. As he spoke, his voice made me shudder. "Anastasia, stay with Dominic until he wakes up. I can trust you to make sure he is kept put, yes?"

I didn't look back to see her reaction, afraid her terrified eyes would do nothing but make the situation far worse than it already was. I kept quiet as I was tugged forwards with a sudden pull; what would my gasp do but give him more pleasure? So I let him drag me through the long, exquisite corridors, leaving my heart and feelings behind with the helpless Anya and her unmoving friend. As far as I knew, I was about to become just as dead as him.

The leader pushed two large doors open and yanked me inside with so much force that I tripped right into one of the fine leather armchairs that were waiting inside. In a flash he sat in the one beside mine.

His fingers entwined in his lap as he studied my clueless face. Finally, he said, "I believe it is time we had a talk."

* * *

><p>The study was beautiful in its pattern of similar shades of dark wooden, but far too big to have me believing only <em>one<em> person could own it. There were rows of bookshelves, all stuffed with books of every size, covering the whole wall that was to the west of me, and a foot or two away from them was a desk with engravings that were twisted in beautiful lines. The eastern wall was also decorated with similar bookshelves, although they stopped on both sides to make room for the lovely, marble fireplace I couldn't stop admiring. The armchairs were placed closely by it, obviously meant for cuddling up in with a crackling fire in front.

On the side of me that wasn't occupied by the dominantly large door, the wall was practically made of glass; I was disappointed to notice that the darkness of the night made it impossible to spot any part of the surroundings outside.

Just like the other rooms I'd seen so far, it was extraordinary to the point where I wondered if I'd fallen asleep and was only dreaming of the beautiful sight. However, I didn't need to pinch myself to remind myself that I was awake; the monster in the other armchair made sure I couldn't forget that I was stuck in the dreadful reality.

"So," he said, his voice almost emotionless. "I will make it simple for you, human."

I struggled not to grimace in disgust; at least I didn't _verbally_ address him as 'monster'.

He continued without bothering. "You have two options here: either you come to grasp with your situation or your life ends. The first ensures that you do _not_ attempt to cause more scenes in the middle of the night and that you will accept that, in this world, you're nothing but a human. You do not test my family or friends, or there will be grave consequences." He paused briefly. "_Normally_, I wouldn't be so gracious as to offer you a second chance after the previous encounter, but Dominic's reaction has proven that he – for some unfathomable reason – cares if your life gets spared or not."

I wasn't sure if he expected me to answer, so I only watched him silently.

"It is however your choice," he said. A grim smile lurked around the corner of his lips as he added, "Personally I wouldn't mind the second option."

I suppressed a shudder as the images of him snapping my neck – like he had just done to my protector – or draining my body of its life-source seeped into my mind. Either one of the death scenes seemed too unreal for my tired mind to even consider accepting.

"I don't want to die," I whispered, too frightened of his scrutinizing, red gaze to speak louder.

His tiny smile faded in an instant. "Very well, then."

After a brief moment of tense silence, I quietly asked, "Can I go back to the room?"

"I think it would be safer for you to wait here for Dominic." The leader clenched and unclenched his hands as if he was imagining there was something between them to crush. "I'm sure that your mortal luck would cause you a run-in with one of the other vampires. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

I pretended not to notice the wicked look that flickered across his face after the last sentence.

"When will he be here then?" I asked. I didn't like the idea the slightest, but the monster was probably right about the others that could be lurking around the corner, just waiting to snap at me for ruining the peacefulness of their night.

"Oh, I am surprised he hasn't showed yet. Or perhaps I am only underestimating Anastasia."

My heartbeat pitched as I pondered the thought of the vampire going back to the room without bothering to escort me with him. I couldn't – wouldn't – spend my night in the study with a hostile monster that was just waiting to wrap his fingers around my throat.

The leader cocked his head to the side, his expression turning vacant for a few seconds. His lips pulled up slightly as he focused his piercing gaze on my face again, but as he spoke, he was no longer addressing _me_. "You may enter, Dominic."

I turned my head to watch as the heavy door slid open and my eyes widened as I caught sight of the man that stood outside of it. It was disturbing to see how perfectly fine he looked when I knew he'd been dead – as dead as a vampire really could be – just minutes ago.

His dark ruby eyes gave away that he was sincerely surprised to find me lounging in an armchair without an additional scratch, but his voice was surprisingly dry as he said, "I thought we were past the neck-snapping in this home."

The leader sighed melodramatically as he rose from his seat. "After all these years, you of all should know what getting on my nerves will bring."

"I apologize for my response, but no real incident has occurred. You have no reason to punish her."

"Loose the frown, son." I didn't understand the 'son'; he couldn't be that much older. "No harm has been done, as you can see. I've only explained the newly instated ground rules for the human's stay."

The mahogany-haired vampire's gaze flickered briefly to my face before it returned to the monster that had silently moved closer. I flinched as a hand landed on my shoulder, but it was impossible to shrug away from it.

"Now, of course, there is no certainty that this won't happen again," the leader continued. "You know how to make sure of it, though. Why don't you compel..._her_?" He said the last word with effort, as if it was hard just to get it out.

As his sentence sank in, I tried to get to my feet. He firmly pushed me down again.

"That won't be necessary, Riley. She's not going to be of any trouble."

"Compel her."

"She won't…"

"If you refuse, I will kill her." A shiver trembled down my spine as the hand on my shoulder moved to grip my chin, forcing my neck back into an uncomfortable angle. "One twist and she's dead."

Humiliating tears sprung in my eyes as I looked at the mahogany-haired vampire, despair curling into a tight lump in my throat. He stared back with uncertainty, clearly oblivious to the resolve I could feel in the fingers that were digging into my cheeks.

Finally, he quietly asked, "Why? I thought you were looking for a reason to kill her."

The leader's grip tightened enough to make me yelp. "We must not discuss the details for now, but I have decided that I need this house to remain calm. That will not happen if this human goes running for the door every night, nor will it if you despise me for ending her life."

My vision grew blurry as I tried to shake my head. "Don't," I mumbled to my captor, trying to ignore the pain the monster was causing me. "Please, don't."

The vampire looked troubled, but through my haze of tears I could see his determination settle. I whimpered as he slowly walked over to kneel in front of me and the hand on my chin vanished in response. My breathing was labored as I stared pleadingly at him, but the desperation soon melted away as his dark ruby eyes locked with mine.

I sighed with an odd contentment as the faintly familiar blanket of warmth wrapped itself around my trembling form. His gaze was deep enough that I wanted to linger there until I drowned and as he spoke, his voice was like a velvety mist that made my mind mildly dizzy.

"You do not wish to leave this house," he murmured, "until I say differently."

His soft words suddenly made no sense; why would I possibly want to leave?

* * *

><p><strong>I'd love to see if your reactions are as I assume, so don't be shy to leave a review ;)<br>Until next time - which I hope will be soon! **

**/BeCkYbOnG **


	7. Chapter 7

**So, after taking my time to feel all gushy and flattered by the reviews for the last chapter, I finally decided it was time to update. And, well, this long text and all its grammatical errors was what I came up with, so enjoy!**

**(And, since I'm childish enough to feel the urge to point this out, it's my birthday tomorrow and reviews are on my wish list... Just sayin'.)**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SEVEN<strong>

_I try to hold on but it hurts too much,_  
><em>I try to forgive but it's not enough,<em>  
><em>to make it all okay.<em>

_(James Morrison feat Nelly Furtado)_

Someone was banging my skull against a wall.

The pain was like an unsynchronized melody, twisting and pulsating in the back of my head to the rhythm of its own song. _Thump, thump, thump-thump_... Each beat made me wrinkle my nose and cringe. Impatiently, I waited for the pain to grow dull, but as it only lingered, I couldn't help but groan out loud. Why couldn't I be left alone to sleep?

I rolled around until my head was hugged by something soft. The material touched my face gently, but the instant difficulty to breathe gave me the feeling of being compressed. Once my mind cleared enough to allow me the realization that it was only a pillow, I hesitantly pushed myself up a few inches to peek around.

One brief glance told me that the vampire was absent. I was sprawled out in the middle of the empty king-sized bed, hogging the space I knew was his. By the looks of the tangled sheets beneath me, I must've been occupying his side of the mattress for long enough that he'd been forced to leave hours ago. Smugness found its way into my soggy mind.

I groaned once more as my head ached with a particularly rough thump. With both my vision and mind clear, I understood that the pain I felt had to be the side effect of getting smashed up against a wall. The memory of it was surprisingly hazy, pushed back to give room for finer details like my failed attempt at escaping and the sight of Cody right in front of me. The hatred, though milder than yesterday, flared deep inside of me at just the _thought_ of his blue eyes.

Sleepily, I stretched my arms and legs before I shuffled out of bed in hope that a warm bath would help my sore skull and petty mood. I padded into the bathroom, eager and ready to bury my worries in steaming water, though only to find that someone was blocking the path to my wish. A woman in her mid-fifties, I presumed, was sitting on the cold tile floor, scrubbing and polishing the toilet in front of her with moves so monotonic and swift they had to be printed into her system. The morning sun beaming in from the window made her raven hair, pulled up in a loose and messy bun, shine like a beautiful memory of the independent woman I believed she must've been before. Her olive-toned skin only showed in glimpses between her simple, pale shirt and the yellow rubber gloves that were covering her up to her elbows, yet it looked as flawless as the glossy black strands that adorned her head.

I wasn't sure how long I stood there, watching her with a dumb-founded expression on my face, but eventually she picked up on the feeling of my gaze focused on her face. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes glittered in the light as she looked up at me and as she spoke, her voice held a lovely foreign accent that hinted of ancient stories and secrets about her heritage.

"Can I help you, dear?" she asked with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Oh, sorry," I found myself mumbling. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

"_Disturb_ me? No, no."

With just those few words, I knew I liked her. Everything about her – from the hint of a peachy blush on her cheeks to a tiny scar on her forehead – seemed to scream '_human_'.

I returned her smile timidly for the briefest of a moment, before I let it fade as I asked, "You don't happen to know where…_he_ is, do you?"

"Ah, I almost forgot." She pulled herself to her feet with slow and painfully tired moves. My hand instinctively went out to help her, but she waved it off without losing her smile for even a second. "Your master asked me to tell you he'll bring breakfast soon."

_Master_.

That tiny word – just those two syllables – was all it took for the blood to rush from my face.

"You're a very lucky girl," the woman continued, oblivious to my reaction since she had turned to stuff her cleaning material into a red bucket. "I don't think I've ever seen such a nice man of his kind."

I wanted to scream or shout, anything to tell her how wrong she was for thinking of that vampire as anything but exactly that – a _vampire_ – but I had lost my voice to the horrifying meaning of her choice of words. To my surprise, a beautiful one answered for me before my silence could be noticed.

"Thank you, Juanita." The woman turned at the mention of her name and, to add to my shock, her smile only widened as her gaze flickered between the person behind me and I. To me, it was an unsolved mystery how she couldn't see the change of my expression. "Your services are required downstairs."

I couldn't stand more of this moment. Despite the prickling feeling of eyes watching me, I lowered my attention to the floor while I heard Juanita shuffle past me. The sense of the vampire's presence vibrated through me with such intensity that it was impossible to ignore it, but – though I hated myself for having to admit it – I was too frightened to face him after last night to force my body to turn around. I kept completely still until I heard the bedroom door close.

And then I was idiotic enough to make a bolt for the door; a movement I should've known would be picked up on by his superior reflexes.

"Oh, not so fast," he said while his arm snuck around my waist in one snake-like move.

I tried to shrink away from the cold skin I could feel through both of our shirts, but he held me in a vice-like grip. With a tiny sigh of defeat, I reluctantly gave in to his supernatural strength.

"Just get it over with," I whispered, my voice far too quiet to please me.

He turned me toward him so that my face was free for his gaze to explore. I unwillingly let my eyes trace the way up to his dark ones, and felt my body relax a notch as I noticed he looked nothing but calm.

"Get what over with?" he asked, gentle surprise audible in his voice.

I frowned a bit. "Aren't you going to…punish me for last night?"

"Of course I'm not going to _punish_ you." He made the word sound even filthier than I had. "I should've known it was only a matter of time before you tried to run away."

"But I…"

"I know what you did, Amber. I just don't find it suitable to use punishment."

Though I wished to, I couldn't believe him to the fullest.

"I do however wonder," he continued while he started walking out of the bathroom, tugging me with him with remarkable ease. "You understand what would've happened if anyone other than that man had found you yesterday, don't you?"

I gave a reluctant nod.

"So you wish to leave this house so badly that you'd take such risks?"

"I don't wanna leave this hou—" I cut myself off as I suddenly realized what words were flowing out. Fear caught hold of me again, only this time it was summoned because of what I was subconsciously admitting to saying out loud. Although I knew very well it was too late to take my answer back, I quickly added, "I mean, I knew what I was risking. But it would've been worth it."

"You're wrong," he said. The definite tone he used made it a statement rather than a personal opinion. "Nothing would've been worth what could have happened."

I wasn't enjoying the images he now created for me, but what got to me the most were the two first words he'd used. He had no right to tell me I was wrong.

With a quiet growl I successfully pushed away from him. He let his arm fall from my waist without struggle or protest before he gracefully sat down on the bed, clearly settling on watching my anger instead of serving it back. The patience in his dark ruby eyes taunted me, though a part of my mind knew it wasn't his intention.

"I'm not wrong," I argued hotly. "I knew what I wanted in that moment and even if I had been caught by anyone but Cody, it still would've been _pretty damn _worth it."

His calm expression melted into one of mild amusement. I couldn't gather the reason for the change, but he gave no room for asking before he softly said, "Alright."

I huffed, taken off guard so fully by his swift swing that I had nothing better to give as a comeback. However, as he spoke again, the anger flared up just as brilliantly as before.

"But do you still wish to leave this house?" he asked, raising a dark eyebrow inquisitively.

My mouth plopped open to give a frightening, automatic answer, but I clamped it shut before the "No" could leave me. With narrowed eyes I watched the acknowledgement settle on his face. He looked as if I had passed a test I'd had no wish to participate in.

Seeking a distraction from the fact that my own mind was turning its back on me, I roughly asked, "Would you mind telling me when 'master' became the new Spanish word for 'vampire'?"

His other eyebrow arched to join the first as surprise clouded his expression. "What?"

"Juanita." I tried my best not to think about how poor my pronouncement of the name was in comparison to the perfect flow of his melodious voice. "She called you my _master_."

"Of course you caught that," he murmured, quietly enough that I wondered if it was meant for only _his_ ears to hear. I said nothing, hoping it would give a clear statement that I wanted an answer. To my surprise, he complied without his usual hesitance as he said, "That might have to do with her origin. She's newly transferred from Europe."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, confused.

"Rumor has it there's a…_trend_ spreading there."

"What sort of a trend?"

He waited a brief moment, watching me with an oddly speculative glint in his dark eyes, before he patted his hand against the comforter beside him. I scoffed and folded my arms across my chest, demonstrating an objection to his ridiculous request. His tiny smile told me that he'd already anticipated my reaction, which only made me fume further. It was unquestionably unnerving that, after so few weeks, he was already able to foretell my next expression or move.

Unbothered by my unpleasant mood, he reached behind his back to pull a tray of breakfast into view. Though his way of persuasion was unfair, I gave in to my bubbling hunger without another protest and walked over to sit beside him. He handed me the food with the same slight smile on his lips as before.

"Don't do that," I said with a scowl.

He raised an eyebrow again. It was starting to become his signature move.

"Act like you know me," I added warningly. "Because trust me, you really don't."

"I've had plenty of time to observe your behavior," he replied without a single seed of timidity. "So, trust _me_, I know more than you think."

I strongly disliked how he spoke as if I was a fascinating animal he was taking time to study.

Still glaring, I said, "Just get back to the subject."

The vampire seemed little surprised by my resignation from an argument, but he waved my anger off by answering, "I will. But keep in mind that there are things I'm not supposed to share. I can only give you part of the story, I'm afraid."

"Hey, you said once that you'd tell me…"

"About the situation here," he finished for me. "Europe is a matter that is both distant and irrelevant to you in the moment."

My morning mood was starting to set fire to my most immature side; it was a pure struggle just to keep myself from sticking a tongue out at his elegant choice of words. Sourly, I went with saying, "Fine. Then tell me what you're _allowed_ to."

Again, he pushed the tray of food toward me. I glanced down while I found a spot for it to rest, but from the corner of my eye I saw how he shifted further up the bed to face me completely. Feigning obliviousness to his dark ruby stare, I started snacking on a piece of soft bread.

"Well, to start, I need to know what you thought would happen when you got caught," he begun simply. "Before and after I…helped you."

I stopped chewing for a moment as I realized the reason for his slight pause was because of the harsh words I'd used the last time he'd mentioned his _saving_ of my life. I didn't like being reminded of the subject, but I swallowed the bread before I reluctantly answered, "I thought I was going to be killed right there on the spot. But then they had a _change of heart_," – I spoke the words bitterly – "and decided to bring me here instead."

He watched me patiently, expecting me to continue.

"So," I added unwillingly, "I thought I would be murdered here. And then you told them you wanted me for yourself, which made me believe that you would…hit or bite me." I realized my slight slip just then and quickly made sure to warn, "I still think you will."

It was his turn to narrow his eyes. I made an innocent face while I continued eating, pretending not to notice how he reacted to the way I thought of him. He had already sworn several times that he had no intentions of hurting me and I hated to admit that a small part of me was relying on those promises. _He_, however, did not need to know how his manipulatively soft voice was starting to convince that tiny side of me.

"Well, what you're _assuming_ is happening there," he said, sounding faintly strained. "Apparently it is now appreciated for us to have humans to ourselves. It supposedly shows power."

I tried to swallow back my disgust, but it was fully detectable in my voice as I asked, "You're saying it's not enough to keep people in a _basement_ – now you want your own _private_ blood banks, too?"

"We thought it was just a rumor, but yes, it has been confirmed now."

"But…no one here is doing this?"

"Not yet, no."

Though I'd caught the way he'd made this new understanding sound ridiculous, I still had to ask, "Not even you?"

He chuckled once in a way of disbelief to my question. I bit the inner side of my cheek to stop myself from thinking of how beautiful his laughter sounded, humorless or not.

"Trust me," he said," you would've noticed."

"Well, I don't trust you," I muttered under my breath.

It had only been meant as a private remark, but – like usual – I'd underestimated his supernatural senses.

A pair of strong hands gripped my wrists merely two seconds after the words had left me. My brain was too slow and soggy to have time to register the inhumanly quick movements; one moment I was sitting with the tray resting beside my thigh and the next I was on my back with the vampire pinning me down to the bed without putting any of his weight on my body. His dark ruby eyes met mine briefly and I managed to catch a glimpse of an emotion I couldn't quite put my finger on – like a mix of amusement and mischievousness. His impossibly quick moves had me too disoriented to fully gather what he was doing, but my instincts told me to feel fear as he leaned in toward my throat. A tiny gasp left my lips as I heard an odd sound coming from deeper inside his mouth and I started trembling mildly while I waited for the sting of his fangs.

His cool breath tickled my neck as he whispered, "You know I could bite you right now, don't you?"

I didn't dare do so much as blink.

"And that, Amber," he murmured, "is exactly what I would've done if I were your master."

"Way to prove a point," I breathed.

I could almost _hear_ how he smiled in response, but I had no chance to see for myself if I was right before two familiar knocks on the door made his head whip up and in the direction of the sound. His face was uncomfortably close to mine as he returned his attention to me, but there was only a slight amusement in his dark eyes as he said, "I left an Aspirin for you on the tray. You're going to need it if you don't want your headache to get worse."

I frowned as I prepared to ask how he could know of my current condition, but in the flash of a second he'd vanished, leaving me with nothing but the sound of the closing door.

A second later it clicked open again, and I shakily sat up just in time to see Anya lean against the doorframe with unfamiliar hesitance. Her eyes – which were a tone darker than the ones of the vampire that had just left – were filled to the brim with apologies while she watched me uncertainly, clearly waiting for me to allow her inside the room that wasn't mine, even if I happened to be spending far more time in it than its actual owner.

"Hey," I said slowly, unsure how to respond to her different behavior.

She lingered where she was while she softly asked, "Would you mind terribly if I came in? I know you must be upset, but I—"

"Upset?" I cut her off in incredulousness. "Why would I be upset with _you_?"

"Because of last night," she explained. Like several hours earlier, there was a deep frown on her face that didn't match with the genuinely kind personality I knew she possessed. "You have to understand, I didn't want to let Riley take you. It's just—"

Again, I couldn't stop myself from interrupting her as I said, "I'm not mad at you, Anya. You warned me of…him and I didn't listen."

She remained doubtful for a brief moment before the burden of regret lifted from her shoulder in a way that was practically visible. Her face brightened into her familiar, mild expression and with a tiny smile on her lips, she shut the door close behind her and moved to sit beside me. I had no difficulty admitting that her presence was pleasantly soothing after the scare I had just experienced.

Feeling like I needed to take my mind off the events of last night, I raised an eyebrow and said, "On second thought, perhaps I shouldn't call you Anya. I might've heard someone call you Anastasia…"

I let my voice trail off into silence as a hint of curiosity. She smiled at my inquiry.

"Be glad you have a name that is far too unique to shorten," she answered softly.

"Anastasia _is_ unique," I interjected.

"But it's also a mouthful. I thought I'd let the name Anastasia die with my human life."

Both her words and unshielded mention of vampirism surprised me.

"But he called you that last night. Does that mean he knew you before you were…turned?"

She was still smiling, though she denied me my answer by saying, "That is a story far too gloomy for this day. I'm here to cheer you up, not put a frown on your face."

It wasn't what I'd wanted from her, but the reply sounded good enough.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked. The bad mood from before was ceasing with every ticking second, leaving only the headache to remind me of what I'd been through within just minutes of my morning.

"Well, I was thinking," Anya said, her voice progressively turning excited, "and I remembered how you asked me about the shops where I got your clothes from."

"And?" I prompted, mild suspicion flooding through me.

"I thought I could take you to them. It's not too far away, but I bet you're dying to get out of this house, even if it's just for a whi—"

"No." The word blurted out before I could think of stopping it.

Anya's eyebrows rose in honest surprise, but she sounded gentle and assuring as she said, "Amber, I'm sure Dominic won't mind. It's only for a few hours."

"I just… I don't wanna go anywhere, that's all."

"But you… Oh."

This time, _my_ eyebrows arched upwards. Judging by the sound of a realization in her voice, she now knew the reason for my automatic disagreements.

And I really wanted in on it.

"What?" I asked. My tone was a burning fire of curiosity.

Her smile had faded in the matter of a second, leaving her face in an expression of mild anger and disbelief. The words that left her lips a moment later made no sense to me, but the way her dark eyes intensified told me the Russian sentence she'd just muttered was _not_ pleasant. I didn't need to force my mind to not pry for a translation.

"Anya?"

My voice sent a startled look across her alabaster face and, if the situation had been different, I would've chuckled at how horrified she seemed to have cursed.

"I'm sorry," she said, softer than before, "but I really need to talk to someone. Could I come back later?"

"Sure, but…"

I was given no chance to speak before she dashed out the door. The wind whipped my face for a second, sending a few strands of honey blonde hair into my face. With a mildly irritated sigh, I tucked them back behind my ears.

The supernatural speed of this house's owners was starting to become _far_ more frustrating than fascinating.

Sighing again, I turned my attention to the tray of forgotten breakfast and eagerly let my mind be consumed by the delicious food that I was, at this point, used to getting spoiled with. The vampire had spoken the truth about leaving medicine for me, but our previous encounter only made it harder for me to believe that the white pill was an Aspirin. It took me the whole breakfast and several additional minutes before I finally gave up and swallowed it with a sip of the icy cold water the vampire had filled a tall glass with.

While I waited and prayed that the only effect would be a loss of the uncomfortable headache, I had plenty of time to contemplate what both vampires had told me during my morning. Eventually, though, all the confusion about my attempt to escape and the shock of hearing about Europe only made my mind feel even soggier.

Soon enough, my tiredness shifted into a restless curiosity. I shuffled out of bed again and, choosing to ignore the fact that I was still wearing my pajamas, I snuck over to the door to listen for sounds outside of it. I hadn't really expected anyone to stand out there and spill the most exciting top secrets, but the heavy silence I was greeted with still managed to disappoint me.

With a quiet groan, I spun around to lean back against the material of the door and in an instant I found just what I needed to distract myself from the burdens that were weighing down on me.

The window I'd watched for days was in its usual spot, only now I understood it showed more than a view of the beautiful moon. I couldn't fully recall why I'd never looked out at more than the night's peacefulness, but the interest flared up like an unquenchable flame as I quickly made my way over to find an answer to where exactly these vampires had brought me.

The first thing I noticed as I looked outside was the fresh greenness of an enormous lawn. The lovely long strands of grass swayed with an invisible breeze, only forced apart where lines of gravel showed the way through the beautiful garden. There was not a _seed_ of sand as far as my eyes could see – just a pure, harmonic image of what I'd, as a child, wanted to be greeted with every day. The picture of a big house and an even larger garden had for some reason always seemed alluring to my younger mind, but after countless of pleading moments with my parents, I'd given up on my unrealistic dream.

Now, at least ten years later, it was not the lack of hope that failed to fit in with my childish image.

It was the fact that I no longer had the wish to hop out and run around until my lungs ached.

I pushed the window open anyway and allowed my lips to tug up into a weak smile as the forenoon air caressed my face like cool feathers. Carefully, I leaned outside, breathing in as much of the D-vitamins the shining sun offered to provide me with. The beams traced my eyelids as I closed them and I let the warmth seek its way to the very core of my bones…

"Try not to fall out, will you?"

The melodious voice made me flinch in surprise and I gasped as my balance wavered strongly. The split of a second later, a pair of strong hands was gripping my waist, firmly keeping me steadied to the bedroom floor. I squirmed away from the touch in an instant, but as I turned around, I was still just a few inches from the mahogany-haired vampire.

He seemed completely unbothered by the short distance as he said, "Please tell me you weren't planning to jump out."

The memory of the moment before he'd left flickered through my mind and, instead of answering, I offered him a scalding scowl. His lips twitched slightly in response and I put more anger into my glare as I detected the hint of a smirk.

I sincerely doubted it was because of my fury that his tiny smile suddenly faded and I was proven correct as I, mere seconds later, detected the vague sound of voices outside the door. Clearly hearing more than my human ears could, the vampire strode over there to roughly yank the door open. I trailed after him with curiosity tingling inside me.

"I told you not to press this any further," the vampire said to whoever was standing out there. To say that he sounded infuriated would be an underestimation. "You're risking even more by coming here, Thomas."

Thomas.

I had forgotten all about his fate while dreading my own last night. Quickly, I prayed that no suspicious minds had sought him out and demanded to know how it was possible for me to have acquired so much equipment when I'd never left this bedroom before.

"I need to see her," Thomas answered. By the sound of his worn voice, I gathered they'd had this conversation before. "Please, Dominic. If anything has happened… I can't take it if she's been harmed because of me."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have put the plan into motion."

I groaned at his surprising immaturity and, before the vampire could think of stopping me, I snuck past him to reveal myself to the man outside. I heard the sound of something whipping through the air, but I still flinched as a strong arm slinked around my waist to pull me back.

"Get your hands off o—"

"Amber?"

Thomas' voice, sweetened with a heavy relief, stopped me in my worthless attempts to pry the vampire's fingers off of my waist. His eyelids hovered over his blood-shot eyes as I glanced up at him and the look of such exhaustion worried me so fully that my arms instinctively reached out toward him in the request of a hug. His warm hands went around the back of my neck to embrace me and, though the vampire was making it irritatingly difficult, I melted into the hug while everything from last night came rushing back to me. Nervousness, adrenaline, fear… Within a second, all of it grew into a crystal-clear memory.

"You're alright," Thomas softly sighed.

"I'm alright," I agreed in a mumble, hoping it would soothe the ache of worry inside of him.

The arm around my waist tightened enough that I was forced to lean back in order to stop my skin from bruising. I gave up on the hug with reluctance before I returned to my struggle of pushing the cold fingers away from my waist – a task so infuriatingly impossible I couldn't stop from glowering up at the vampire beside me. He returned my glare with a soft look of patience before he awarded the person outside with his full attention.

Only, now I realized I'd slipped up on counting the amount of people.

Behind Thomas, who had stepped aside with an aura of relief, a pair of blue eyes was watching my face guardedly. I didn't need to see the rest of his mildly tanned face or blonde hair to be sure of his identity; his unique gaze was all I craved to know for certain.

I turned my attention to the vampire as if to ask him to discard the traitor and as I saw the same disrespect in his dark eyes as I had last night, I slowly came to understand why he wanted me to keep a distance from the man he had to be hating for more than I.

I glanced back at Cody and, clearly sensing my resignation from any kind of conversation, he sighed. Tiredly, he said, "I need to talk to you."

"And I'm not interested," I muttered.

His stormy eyes lingered on my face for a second before it darted to the arm around my waist for a feeble moment. As he met my gaze again, I could without difficulty guess what ridiculous conclusions his mind was creating for him. In that moment, though, I wanted to be rid of him more than I felt the urge to explain why I was allowing the vampire to hold me back.

"You can't ignore me forever," Cody said.

"Well," I replied, narrowing my eyes a notch, "I can always try."

With that, the door in front of me was slammed shut with a finalizing _bam_.

I looked up at the vampire, surprised that he'd given me the privilege of such a dramatic end to the brief conversation. His gaze rested on the door for a long moment as if he could see straight through it before it eventually turned to me, revealing the ounce of smugness that had twined into his dark ruby irises.

I raised an eyebrow inquiringly, but he only gave an indifferent shrug before he slipped away from me.

For once, I had to admit that his presence was more of a convenience than an annoyance.

Though just for that once.


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh, well, look what we've got here: a new chapter! Yes, it might be a bit shorter than the past two, but only because I decided to break it off and turn it into two chapters rather than a ridiculously long one (Yeah, I don't think anyone has the energy to go through 9000 words...).**

**I hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER EIGHT<strong>

_And I told you to be patient,_  
><em>and I told you to be fine.<em>  
><em>And I told you to be balanced,<em>  
><em>and I told you to be kind.<em>

_(Bon Iver)_

_Amber,  
>by the time you read this, I have already left. There are things that need to be dealt with and my help is required. Do not worry; I've asked Anya to keep an eye on you in case Riley or anyone else decides to pay a visit.<br>I'll be back in approximately two days. __Don't__ do anything reckless while I'm gone.  
>Please try to keep an open mind if Anya finds it too hard to keep my whereabouts secret. <em>

_ -__Dominic_

I frowned at the sheet of paper in my hands, sitting in complete silence.

Confusion was the mildest adjective to name the emotion that was slowly settling in me, though it ruled my senses with such intensity that I wanted to call it a numbing horror. I was frozen in place, sitting cross-legged on the bed with the note I'd found on the pillow beside mine, and even if I'd _wished_ to get up and take the bath I'd earlier considered, I wouldn't be able to move an inch. I'd been locked there for several minutes, unsuccessfully attempting to come to a conclusion about why he'd left so abruptly to be gone for two whole days. The fact that he hadn't been careless enough to hurry away without scribbling down a clear admonishment made me sincerely doubt that I was to count it as a sign of him trusting me not to do anything irresponsible.

Like another shot at a runaway.

"Ugh," I groaned, as I felt my mind melt into the usual sogginess it tended to become whenever I tried to sort out the events of the night when I'd failed to escape. I was progressively growing accustomed to h0w the feeling plagued me, but still it had the ability to make me sulk.

I inhaled a deep breath, momentarily deciding to try to shove any thought of the mahogany-haired vampire back into a dark little corner of my mind. It bothered me disturbingly much how I couldn't feel joyful about the fact that I had been offered _two whole days_ without the attention of those black pair of eyes and a part of me chose to blame _him _for the lack of cheering in me. I had to believe that it was all him, or I would go crazy with the thought of how I was slowly softening towards the idea of this vicious world of vampires.

Determinedly, I shook my worries off and tossed the troubling paper aside. While it landed delicately on the floor, I shuffled out of the bed and padded into the bathroom. My hand was ready to turn the water to the tub on as I walked around the corner, but it froze in motion as I caught sight of another piece of furniture besides the bathtub. In the corner of the room, an elegant shower was attached where the two walls should be meeting, looking flawlessly cleaned with shining tiles and a polished glass door.

I gave it a long, speculative look while I pondered if the joy of smudging it with shampoo and soap would be great enough to compensate for the trouble I was destined to put either myself or Juanita –the kind cleaner – in. Deciding it would only give more dread than smugness, I went with a bath instead. Just minutes after I'd poured a lovely vanilla-scented soap into the tub, I practically jumped out of my clothes and let the warm water swallow my body.

It was with heavy reluctance that I, an hour later, wrapped a fresh bath robe around me. The cooled water was swiftly sinking into the drain while I started drying my hair with the towel I'd found along with the robe, and I paid the mildly slurping sound no heed as I headed out of the warm room. My wet feet skidded slightly against the floor as I walked and my wavering balance forced me to grip the doorframe of the door to the bathroom to stop from falling as I suddenly realized I was no longer alone.

A shaky sigh left me as I detected the familiar, big curls of Anya's bronze hair; they were spread out beneath her as she lay on her back on the king-sized bed, her hands resting on top of her flat stomach. Her eyes were closed, giving her sweet face a sense of peacefulness.

"You scared me," I mumbled. My heart was still pounding fiercely, roughly affected by my brief moment of shock.

She peered up at me through her thick lashes. I could only barely make out the sight of her black eyes.

"And you take awfully long baths," she softly replied.

I moved into the room, picking up the short letter from the floor on my way to the bed. As I flopped down beside Anya, I handed her the note before I nonchalantly continued drying my hair with the towel while I waited for her to read the elegant hand-writing.

It took her mere seconds to finish, but I hid my surprise by shooting her a meaningful glance and saying, "It's almost as if he's expecting you to tell me."

Her expression was one of ominous hesitance as she heaved herself up to rest on her elbows. "Oh, I don't think you want to know," she answered.

"I do."

"I don't know…"

"Anya, he just _left_. I wanna know where he's gone and why he didn't even bother to…"Bother to do _what_, exactly? I frowned at my own confusing words; I was growing far too used to relying on him for protection. Quickly, I added, "I just wanna know where he's gone."

She bit her lip for a moment. On practically _any_ face but hers, I knew the surprisingly humane expression would've clashed with the supernatural tone of her irises.

"Alright," she finally said. There was a great reluctance in her voice that told me she was sincerely wishing I'd simply drop it. "I assume you already know what is happening to most of the towns around you."

Though I was shocked by her swift change of topic, I couldn't deny the disgust that instantly stirred to life inside of me. My jaw tightened a bit as I quietly nodded.

"Well, each time, a group of vampires – often no more than half a dozen – are sent out to…do the deed."

I didn't like where this conversation was heading, so I quickly asked, "What does that have to do with this?"

She hesitated for a few heart-clenching seconds before she gave up and murmured, "Dominic is out there with them."

For a long moment, I only stared at her in response. A feeling of disbelief was trickling through me, making it a struggle to say or do something appropriate for the situation.

"There's no way he's killing people right now," I finally said with an uncertain chuckle.

I waited for the punch line to this sick joke, but none of her sweet smiles spread on her lips as she watched me cautiously. Slowly – almost _painfully _slowly – the realization curled into a blooming lump of hurt in my throat until it felt as if I was being choked.

"He's…he's killing people right now?" I asked, my voice shaking mildly with the effort of speaking through the suppressing sensation.

"No, no, no," Anya was quick to object. "Amber, listen to me. He's just out there with them, he's not killing anyone."

I _wasn't _listening.

"Of course he's there," I mumbled, more to myself than her. "He's just like them…"

"No, he _is _good. But when it comes to Riley, there are rules that can't be broken. I promise you, though, he's not kill—"

"Please, don't." I was trembling with the image of my parents, either dead or slowly becoming so. Had the mahogany-haired vampire been the one to kill my father? I'd never asked myself this, but it was suddenly the only logic answer. "Don't defend him."

Her dark eyes were pleading with me to stay calm, but they had no effect on me. I felt sick inside, knowing that the vampire I'd grown used to being around was out there somewhere with the rest of his friends, killing and destroying like the monsters they all truly were.

Another realization dawned on me and with a frown on my face, I asked, "Do you do it, too?"

Anya glanced down at the covers, giving away her answer before she could speak it. My eyes were filling with tears of pain –pain over the fact that I'd allowed myself to let either of them in even the _slightest_.

"You…_kill _people." I was making shaky statements rather than questions now. "Just like him."

"No!" Her eyes darted up to me again. They were still fervently begging me not to throw a hysterical fit. "Amber, I don't kill people. I promise."

Her hand reached out toward me but I flinched away.

"Amber…"

"Get out."

She winced as if I had slapped her.

"Get out," I whispered again. "Please, just get out."

She looked so hurt that, even in my frantic state, my body ached with a mild but unwilling pull of guilt. I let my eyes fall to the towel in my lowered hands to avoid the sight of her and I refused to glance up while I listened to the sound of her heels clicking away. Once the door gently shut close, though, I couldn't stop myself from looking at the spot where she had just vanished.

For just a feeble moment, I considered jumping up and running after her.

Eventually, though, I went with just crawling underneath the covers of the bed and shielding my crying self from the rest of the crucial world.

* * *

><p>When the pained sobs finally ceased, I had two hours to contemplate if getting out of bed and chasing Anya down would be a good idea or a suicidal mission. Not once since my attempt to run away had I been out in those corridors and, until I found the magical strength to hold my own against a dozen of immortals, I'd rather spend my time safe and sound in this lonely bedroom. As long as no vampire showed up at the door, this bed was my most effective shelter.<p>

After reaching my decision, I spent the following hour running around the room in search of clothes that wouldn't make me queasy. I knew I was taking it far by not wanting to wear any of the garments Anya had bought for me, but just the _thought_ of tugging on a pair of jeans or a soft shirt made my throat thicken with nausea. And, finally, I got my way by finding the shorts and tank top I'd worn when first arriving at the house. An inch of my mind added the fact that the mahogany-haired vampire hadn't burned them to the very short list of reasons not to hate him completely.

The remaining forty-two hours until two full days could pass I wasted on eating the meals a smiling Juanita brought and raiding the vampire's room of things to stop myself from digging even deeper into the thoughts of what Anya had confessed. However, I was displeased to notice that, even though listening to the iPod I'd found tossed into the pocket of a jacket in his wardrobe made my daytime successfully free of worries and illness, the surprisingly good music couldn't stop the nightmares that haunted me when the sun vanished.

And, when I woke up sweaty and frightened, there was absolutely no one there to soothe me.

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><p>On the second night of my free time, I was lying on my back on the bed with my feet resting on a pillow and my head lingering just outside the foot of the furniture. My eyes were closed while I listened to the loud music that was pouring out of the ear-buds I'd claimed, leaving me in such a solid bubble of carelessness that I simply didn't care how ridiculous I looked when mouthing the lyrics as they came along.<p>

There was no sound to warn me of a change in the room, but a mere second later, it was as if I could _sense_ the presence of the vampire. I felt my body go rigid at the thought of him and I had toforce myself to open my eyes enough to peer through my lashes. To my very little surprise, he was standing in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a black jacket as if he'd been out for a stroll rather than tearing people apart.

I didn't dare looking up at his face, unsure how my already damaged mind would react to seeing his crimson red eyes when I knew what innocent blood was causing their bright color. Instead, I kept my gaze focused on the dark blue training bag he'd let to the floor while I deliberated on how – or, more importantly, _if_– to approach him. During my forty hours of nothingness, I'd had time to consider throwing an enraged fit or simply ignoring him until he got so bored of me he'd leave again. So far, the only decision I'd come to was to be bold and ask him straight forward how many times he was out on these…_missions_.

Yet now, as he stood there in all his immortal glory, the only thing I wanted to do was succumb to my inner sadness and let the tears come once again.

I clenched my teeth to keep my control intact. Struggling with my mental weakness, I chose to close my eyes again while I returned to enjoying the music coming from the iPod I'd loaned without authorization. The chorus was coming on again, bringing along a set of drums that made me want to bob my head with the beat.

I flinched as something cold brushed by my ears and then the music swiftly disappeared. My mouth opened to let out a groan of disappointment, but the sound swiftly changed into a gasp as I made the mistake of opening my eyes. I clamped my lips tightly together as I just barely succeeded with refraining from looking up at the face that was lingering higher above mine.

"I'm talking to you," the vampire said, his voice soft but tired.

"Didn't hear you," I muttered.

I could feel him inspecting my face intently and I squirmed away from the seemingly immense stare. I knew without meeting his heavy gaze that his eyes remained steadily focused on me while I shuffled out of bed to create a distance. I locked my own attention on another set of furniture.

"Amber."

I gritted my teeth at the velvety sound his voice gave my name. He was making it a near impossibility to remain strong and controlled.

As he received no other reaction from me, he asked, "Did Anya tell you?"

"Yes."

"_What _did she tell you?"

I struggled with my answer for a moment before I went with a simple, "She told me enough."

In my peripheral vision I could see him move slightly closer. Wanting as much escape space behind me as possible, I chose the opportunity to distract him rather than instantly start stumbling backwards.

"You know," I managed to say, "I wake up one morning to find that you've gone out to _kill _people and ruin their homes. And you have the nerve to ask me to keep an _open mind_?"

His answer was to stride closer and I slowly swallowed what little pride I had left by taking a step back.

"You didn't really think that I would be okay with this, did you?" I continued, though my voice was turning small and pathetic. Every inch I moved away he was quick to shadow. "I think you were just hoping I wouldn't find out so that you could carry on with whatever this is."

To my surprise, he actually stopped.

"_Whatever this is_?" he repeated slowly, as if to make sure those had been my exact words. I was given no chance to speak before he added, "I'm trying to keep you alive. _That's _what this is."

I couldn't help but frown, though I was wise enough to keep myself focused on the main subject. No matter how many distractions and deflections he tried to use on me, he was _not_ getting away with—

My thoughts were cut off as quickly as a burnout as he, in the matter of two seconds, took the remaining steps that were separating us. I instinctively lifted my foot to continue on my path backwards and it remained hanging in the air as his cold hands gripped my upper arms. Though I was sincerely shocked, I kept my eyes locked on another spot than him.

"Amber, look at me," he said softly.

I shook my head. There was no way I was willing myself into seeing the blood red tone of his irises.

Without bothering to repeat his request, he released one of my arms to grip my chin instead. My jaw tightened defiantly as he turned my head toward him, practically forcing me to give him the attention he'd now realized he craved. His eyes locked with mine the second they could and the heavy stare kept me nailed to the floor while my wounded mood fluttered away like swift butterflies. My frown grew deeper while I watched him just as intently, confusedly trying to understand why the color of his irises wouldn't match with what he had just been out doing.

"_What _did Anya tell you?" he asked, repeating his question from earlier.

"That you were out…killing." His arched eyebrow made me realize my slip and I changed my answer to, "She told me that you were out there with the rest. But I know that means you were killing people."

"What you know is that I was _sent_ to kill people. Why does that mean I complied?"

I opened my mouth but closed it a second later as I understood I had no reply to that. Though it took me practically every inch of me to admit it, I knew he was right. Because, if he _had _actually complied, the eyes I was currently staring into wouldn't be even darker than they'd been two nights ago. They would be crimson red.

He must've seen the realization in my gaze, because he gave my arm a light squeeze before he dropped his hands to walk past me. The abrupt loss of both anger and sadness made me feel very empty where I stood, like he'd ripped out all the bad seeds and forgotten to check if there was a possibility for me to give room to any positive emotions. While I remained turned from him, I could hear how he flicked a piece of clothing – his jacket, I presumed – into his wardrobe.

Quietly, I asked, "Is Anya mad at me?"

I knew by his silence that he hadn't expected this question.

"I haven't seen her yet," he finally answered.

"Well, if you do, can you tell her I'm sorry?"

Again, he hesitated for a long moment. I stood completely still, even as he stepped back around to face me.

"You can tell her that yourself later," he said. I prepared myself to question _how _exactly to do so when I hadn't seen her for over forty-eight hours, but he continued speaking. "After you've changed your clothes, I'm going to get you past your grudges."

I raised an eyebrow inquiringly and he answered with a meaningful glance at the door. Shock and incredulousness filled the empty space in me.

"Hold up," I said slowly. "First of all, you think leading me to my own slaughter will help? And what grudges are you going to get me past?"

He moved past me once again, though it was the bureau he now had as destination. I craned my neck to watch him while he started rustling through my given clothes.

"To answer your first question," he replied, "I'm not leading you to your _slaughter_. I hardly think anyone's going to _attack _you for walking through the house."

That wasn't very convincing.

"And what about my grudges?" I asked.

He stopped his movements to look at me. I stared back silently, making no attempt to shield that I was confused.

"About your grudges, I mean the fact that you were _so_ quick to jump to the conclusion that Anya wasn't telling the truth."

I tilted my head slightly to the side, inspecting him while he returned to looking for another set of clothes for me.

"You have to _earn_ the benefit of the doubt," I said. "Just because you didn't kill anyone this time doesn't mean you're a saint. I know this wasn't the first time you were out there."

His hands continued rustling through the clothes, but his eyes turned to meet mine with slight inquisitiveness. I stared back for a moment before I, without putting much thought into it, decided to bring up the itching part I'd forgotten to mention.

"When my home town was attacked, were you the one who killed my father?" I asked, bluntly.

He watched me silently for a moment before he, without missing a beat, answered, "No, I didn't kill your father."

To my own surprise, I chose to believe him.

Without more confronting, I abruptly returned to the other subject by questioning, "So this is about how I don't like vampires?"

Like usual, he didn't seem surprised.

"This is more than _dislike_." He turned to me to flick a few garments my way. They landed perfectly over my shoulder. "Amber, you can't even say my name."

I ignored that remark by gripping the clothes he'd thrown at me. The pair of black jeans and oversized white shirt looked far more inviting than what I was currently wearing. I reluctantly glanced up from them to see the vampire watching me with clear anticipation on his face.

"_Fine_," I exclaimed. "But my blood will be on your hands." A shudder trembled down my spine at the truth of my warning and I quietly added, "_Literally_."

He shook his head at my melodrama, but said nothing as he headed for the door. I waited until his hand was on the doorknob before I said, "Just one more thing."

His black eyes met mine inquiringly.

"I just… I actually accused you of being a murderer." My voice was both speculative and confused. "And you're not even a _little_ bit mad at me?"

"That's the thing about grudges," he replied. I stared at him in bemusement as he opened the door and took a step outside. Before vanishing, he added, "Either you keep them or you don't."

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><p><strong>Reviews will totally make the continuation less lame than the ending of this chapter ;)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**This might be confusing and filled to the brim with errors (and that's quite bad, considering that it's taken me a full month to finally finish the chapter), but what the hell. I hope you enjoy it anyway! **

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><p><strong>CHAPTER NINE<strong>

_I tremble, they're gonna eat me alive._  
><em>If I stumble, they're gonna eat me alive.<em>  
><em>Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?<em>

_(Metric)_

I stared ahead of me in mute terror.

The floor felt torrid beneath my sock-clad feet and the walls around me seemed to be inching closer with every _thump_ of my rapid heartbeat. Burning fear had hooked its claws deep in me, making me twitch every now and then with anticipation of an attack. In a way, though, the immensity of the fright scared me more than the fear itself; I despised how crucial the power these immortals had over my emotions was.

Beside me, the vampire walked by smoothly, either oblivious to my slight quivers or choosing to ignore them rather than offer unwanted comfort. Judging by the supernatural excellence of his senses, I was betting on the latter.

I opened my mouth to beg for him to turn around and lead me back to the only haven I had in this mansion of a house, but the sight of a person by the end of the corridor made me seal my lips and lock my breath behind them. The approaching vampire looked unexpectedly flawless with light brown hair tousled around his perfectly chiseled face and a pair of lips that seemed ready to lift into a smile at any moment. For just a second I wished I could see past the awfulness of his species to picture him as the decent guy he must've been before turning.

The acceleration of my already quick heartbeat made that silly thought slipper away and I braced myself, expecting everything and nothing – both at once. The harsh sound of my heart, sticking out distinctly from the rest of the house's immortality, seemed to catch the vampire's attention, but his dark eyes only met mine for little more than a brief second before they found something else of interest. I frowned while my exhale slinked out. Was that all I had to fear? An uninterested _glance_?

"That wasn't all too horrible, was it?"

I snapped my eyes to the vampire by my side. He was still looking completely at ease, but his question made it clear that he was guarding my every move.

"This is a terrible idea," I insisted, dodging his inquiry.

"You're not very good at deflecting."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that and neither did I get a chance to reply as I detected another approaching vampire. Feeling naively much braver than before, I dared meeting the red gaze that instantly settled on me. A second later, a wicked expression took place on the immortal's face, quickly reminding me of why I'd been frightened in the first place. I pressed closer to my current guide, stupidly choosing to rely on him for protection. To my surprise, he only acknowledged the change of distance by making the other vampire flinch away with a drastically different expression on his alabaster face.

The rest of the walk I spent in silence, progressively inching closer to the mahogany-haired vampire. For the second time that night, I felt mildly grateful for how he refrained from commenting on my jumpiness by simply leading me further and further away from the bedroom and the safety it offered. To my dismay, the appreciation wasn't strong enough to outmaneuver the fear that quickly lured me back into its grip.

When a door swung open in front of us, I'd managed to terrify my own mind to such a point that I was practically _expecting_ a crowd of vampires to be lounging in there, all engaged in a discussion about just how disgraceful the human race was. Surprisingly, though, the first sight that greeted me _wasn't_ a dozen of blood-filled wine glasses.

It was a pair of dark emerald eyes.

For a moment, the distinct sign of humanity lit a tiny flame of hope inside of me and, eager to see more mortal creatures, I quickened my steps until I'd rushed past the vampire beside me. Unfortunately, that was when reality decided to kick in and blow out my little candle of joy.

I pulled to a rough stop a foot from the doorway while my eyes began to travel their confused path around the room. Perplexity filled me as I took in how the soft crème colors shifted in the various tones of the marble counters, stone floor and ridiculously advanced – and without doubt expensive – devices. Like any other room I'd seen of the house, it held that shiny perfection that could only be spotted in glossy furniture magazines or in the houses of absurdly rich people. What baffled me the most about the beautiful kitchen, however, was that _humans_ were hurrying around in the delicious scents of food.

My eyes drifted around for another moment, studying every single flushed face around me, until they landed on a small figure by the corner of the room. The girl looked no more than ten where she was slumped against a counter, her petite shoulders sloping in a glum way and her eyes hidden while watching the spot on the marble surface that her slim index finger was busy scratching. Her hair was a soft blonde tone and pulled back into a beautiful braid that I could see was reaching all the way to her shoulder blades. There was something about her faintly pink lips, even when set in a worried line, and mild features that reminded me so fervently much of someone.

While I struggled to make the connection, the girl seemed to have picked up on my heavy stare, because her baby blue eyes lifted to meet mine. Seeing her adorable face twisted in such mature sadness made me drop my speculations and glance away. The vampire in front of me, standing out like a statue of perfection in the tiny sea of mortals, caught my attention, but his black gaze couldn't swallow my focus.

"What is she doing here?" I couldn't help but ask.

Ever so swiftly, he glanced over his shoulder at the person I was referring to and then back at me to ask, "What?"

"She's just a _girl_!"

"I know." The tone of his voice made his words sound more like '_You don't say_'. "But she's not participating in any work duties."

I looked back at the child to find that she'd let her eyes drift back to the counter she was leaning against. She seemed incredibly fragile in her faded blue jeans and long-sleeved shirt striped with different tones of gray and purple – like a tiny piece of an unsolved puzzle that wouldn't match with the rest, no matter where you tried to connect it to the picture.

"Why is she even here?" I asked, quieter due to the sudden sadness that was slowly swelling in me.

"She doesn't have any other place to be."

"Doesn't she have a family?"

As I received no answer, I turned my eyes back to the vampire, almost expecting a callous '_No_'. He looked surprisingly bothered by my interest in the subject, but something on my face must've prompted him, because he reluctantly said, "She does. Unfortunately, I can't call him much of a family."

For a brief moment, I felt the strongest urge to rush through the room, wrap my arms around her and soothe her with a promise that, one day, everything would be alright. But then I faced reality once again and, knowing that I'd probably never be able to say such a thing without it being a cruel lie, I went back to watching the room rather than the people inside of it.

After a few seconds of listening to the slight tumult around me, I asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Well," the vampire said, audibly easing up now that he knew where my attention had headed, "mainly I thought you'd like to spend some time outside my room." No arguing there, really. "And if anything, this seems to be the perfect place for you."

Strangely, it _was_ the perfect place. I had to give him that.

The vampire moved to gesture toward a kitchen island I hadn't noticed he'd been blocking and I walked past him to hop up on one of the chairs. I twirled on it to lean back against the counter behind me while I, once more, settled on watching the marble environment and the faces that swirled past me. Seeing so many humans after all this time was oddly comforting, even with the vampire shifting to lean against the counter beside me. If I closed my eyes – which I did – and gave in to nothing but the hushed sounds of civil conversation and the mouthwatering scents of food, I could almost imagine that I was sitting somewhere in a crowded restaurant, in an ordinary world, patiently waiting for my order.

"What do you think?"

The voice didn't fit in with my silly imagination, but I clung to it by keeping my eyes squeezed shut.

I didn't feel kind enough to tell him that he'd found the only spot possible for daydreaming, so I went with a deflection. "You never told me about this."

Clearly, he felt the same way as me, because he gave me no more than an immature, "You never asked."

I peeked at him from the corner of my eyes, silently taking in the perfect curve of his nose and the way his black eyes sparkled when the light from the kitchen lamp hit them. Every immortally flawless aspect of his face seemed to magnify while the humans moved around him; it made him look even more like a vampire than I'd thought possible.

His dark eyes flitted to mine and I quickly glanced away. Coincidentally, my gaze landed on the little girl I'd spotted before, and I felt my body go rigid as I realized that she was no longer alone. Her tiny frame was being embraced by two familiar, strong arms and as the man holding her spun her in a clumsy circle, I caught sight of the face I'd subconsciously suspected would belong to the rest of the tall body. I stared in silence for a moment, unable to do more than watch Cody's grin as he swiveled the girl around a few more times.

My whole body flinched when reality slapped me in the face a few seconds later.

"What's wrong?"

I winced again at the sound of the soft voice and in the same instant, Cody's eyes moved in the direction of the person who'd spoken. Pure shock flickered across his face as his blue eyes – they were a stormier version of the girl's – focused on me and then on the vampire beside me.

The time in the kitchen seemed to freeze for a long, strained moment until I managed to ask, "_That's_ your sister?"

Cody stared at me while he slowly let the girl's feet touch the floor. There was a visible struggle in his eyes, as if he was having trouble crawling back behind an emotionless mask after letting his guard down so fully.

"I can't believe you," I whispered in incredulousness. "You lied about that, too?"

I could almost _see_ an answer come to shape in his mouth, but I gave him no chance to speak the words before I sprung out of the chair to hurry out of the room. I heard the vampire move after me, but I waved him off with a quiet, "Don't follow me."

He didn't.

I pushed through the kitchen door, leaving every sane thought behind me as I went. Betrayal was soaring through me, pumping through my veins with the harsh beat of my heart and making it very difficult to realize what a foolish idea it had been to exit the safely crowded kitchen.

My heart skipped a little beat as I faced the currently empty corridors. A part of me ached with the wish to run back inside and hide like a coward behind a counter, but the fact that these halls could lead me to my own execution made the instinct to flee grow stronger. I curled my hands into determined fists while I quickened my pace, moving in what I fervently hoped was the right direction.

"Amber, wait!"

I kept walking, refusing to acknowledge the exasperated voice behind me.

"Amber!"

I barely managed to take another step before a warm hand curled around my upper arm and yanked me to a rough stop. I would've gasped if I hadn't known it could bring more focus to the spot where I stood, so instead, I went with simply remaining turned away from the man that was now holding me back from the vampire's bedroom.

"I'm sorry."

The words brought me various reactions. At first, I did no more than frown, taken off guard by the fact that Cody had chosen yet another unfitting moment to give an apology. Then, after a few tense seconds, sadness bloomed in my chest until I wanted to spin on my heels and throw myself into his familiar arms. Finally, though, when all the confusing depression had dissolved into nothing, all I could feel was bitter, bitter anger.

_I'm sorry_. That wasn't it, was it? He couldn't actually expect those two words to compensate for even an _inch_ of all the pain he'd put me through, could he?

"You're sorry?" I asked quite bluntly while I slowly turned around to face him. "What, for giving me in to the vampires? For stopping me from escaping this house? For lying to me in the first place?" He said nothing, but I smacked his chest with one hand as if to demand him to be quiet. "Do you even know _what_ you're apologizing for?"

Cody watched me silently while his eyes filled with several serene answers. My own brown ones were starting to sting with tears that were highly uncalled for.

"I've accepted the fact that you lied to me about the vampires," I continued, quieter now due to my struggle against the overpowering saltwater. "No, I haven't forgiven you, but I've _accepted_ it." I paused briefly. "But lying to me about your sister? How could you…after I told you about my parents… How could you do that?"

"Amber, I—"

"No, don't!" I smacked him again. "Don't say my name like that, like you actually give a damn."

Instead of swatting my practically harmless hand away, his warm fingers locked around mine to keep me from hitting him once more. I stared at him with as much impassiveness as I could feign, though I knew the damned tears in my eyes gave away how much the familiar touch actually affected me. The last time I could remember entwining my fingers with his had been the night before he'd given me in.

_He'd given me in_.

The words whipped my face like a slap and I quickly tugged my hand out of his.

"I'm sorry," Cody said again while he let his arm fall back to his side.

"I told you—"

"No, _listen_ to me," he insisted. I swallowed back another protest and folded my arms across my chest to keep him from gripping me again. "_I'm sorry_ for giving you in to the vampires. _I'm sorry_ for lying to you about so much. I'm sorry for everything I've done to hurt you, Amber. And unless you give me a chance, the only thing I _can_ do is tell you I'm sorry!"

I made an attempt to look nonchalant while I felt the tears press closer and closer to their exit. Damned be my tear ducts and the inappropriate moments they chose for crying.

"So give me a chance," Cody repeated, softer this time.

To my great surprise, his voice was slowly pushing me further to the edge of the angry cliff I'd stood on since I'd seen his true colors. And, though this realization only made my fury for him flare deeper, I found myself on the verge of giving up for just a second and simply fall into his warm embrace.

"Cody?"

The small voice saved me just in time. My eyes snapped to the source of the sound, easily finding the little girl that had popped her head around the corner of the kitchen door. Though her question meant she was searching for her brother, she was watching _me_ with a timid facial expression, clearly shy of the tears that were filling my eyes to the brim.

"You should go," I mumbled to Cody, choosing to flee rather than confront my feelings. "Go take care of your sister."

He let out a breath of defeat, but pressured me no more. I gazed at the floor while he grabbed his sister and walked past me, hand in hand with the girl I could feel was still looking at me. The sense of the mild stare was the only thing that kept me from sinking to the floor with a pathetic sob.

By the time the two siblings' footsteps had faded into the distance, my eyes were burning even hotter and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before one or two of the tears would find their escape routes. I couldn't possibly return to the kitchen; as if the saltwater that was bound to trickle down my cheeks at any moment now wouldn't be enough of a humiliation, I also had to take into account that the mahogany-haired vampire had probably heard every single word of my conversation with Cody.

I pulled in a deep breath, made a snap decision and then spun on my heels to return to the bedroom.

Only, that path was now blocked.

I could've sworn my heart stopped for a second when I laid eyes on the vampire that was standing right there. My mind filled with crystal-clear memories as I silently took in his glistening red irises, short mess of curly, black hair and broader angle of a jaw line, and I struggled to keep the fear from trickling into my system. His face, olive-toned rather than alabaster, held a look of frightening indifference, but I couldn't possibly miss the smirk that was hinting to curl the corners of his lips upward at any moment.

Almost speculatively, he tilted his head a tad to the side while he stared back just as intensely. I swallowed loudly while my focus wavered, causing me to fail with the task of shoving back the image of my mother's pure blood trickling down her neck and into her white blouse. The memory blurred for a few seconds until it stopped at the sight of the vampire holding her locked in the cage of his strong arms, both eyes and white fangs shining in the fierce sun. Deeper fear shook me as I realized that he looked just as frightening now, three years later, even without a lifeless woman in his embrace.

On a nearly subconscious level, I noted that something wet was slowly trailing two lines down my cheeks. I quickly wiped the tears away with the back of my hands.

"Oh, don't stop on my account," he said. His condescending voice managed to send chills down my spine.

Behind me, I heard a door swing open. A second later, the sound was followed by a quite familiar voice.

"Don't even think about it," the mahogany-haired vampire said, clearly speaking to his friend. The tone of his voice was casual, but there was an unusual roughness to it.

The other vampire – no, _rapacious monster_ – smirked at me, a wicked hunger flickering back and forth across his shimmering red eyes. His voice was equally frightening as he replied, "Can't help it."

I shuddered with the disgust that surged through my veins.

"I ought to give it to you, Dominic. You sure know how to pick a pet." The filthy word only made my shivers increase in number. "She's mouthwatering."

The mahogany-haired vampire showed no interest in either accepting the despicable compliment or keeping small talk. Instead, he simply asked, "What are you doing here?"

The monster said nothing while he intertwined his hands behind his back – somehow, it only made him look more frightful – and took a few appraising steps around me. I shifted to follow his moves, refusing to make myself more of bait than I already was. For a moment, the only sounds in the halls were my harsh breathing and the graceful steps of the monster's feet.

But then the mahogany-haired vampire made the mistake of pensively inching closer.

Before I could comprehend what reaction he'd receive from his friend, I felt my body tug in an impossibly quick movement. A second later I was facing the mahogany-haired vampire, who was standing no more than a foot away with his black eyes blazing and his upper lip curled to show his teeth…and fangs. I'd never seen his – or _anyone's_ – face twisted in such pure fury and the image frightened me so fully that I attempted to stumble away. My clumsy movements made something – an arm, I realized – tighten around my chest and a second later I felt a mild tickling at my ear.

"Do not try to attack me or both of you will be sorry," the monster said, his voice unnervingly close.

"You should know better than to challenge me right now," the vampire growled back.

My current captor chuckled, causing his chest to vibrate mildly where it was pressing against my back. The sound of his humorless laughter made my skin crawl in both fear and anger, but I had lost my voice the second I'd understood he was keeping me locked in the deadly cage of his muscular arms.

Another trail of shudders rippled through me as his warm breath caressed the skin on my neck and as I felt him lean in even further, I couldn't stay still anymore. I trashed in his embrace, desperately fighting for what little freedom I had to pick, but his arm tightened so much that I could barely breathe. Reluctantly, I let my worthless struggling cease.

A whimper of fear and defeat left me as I felt his nose brush against my collarbone.

"Ah," he murmured. "I recognize this scent."

"Antonio, _let her go_!" The mahogany-haired vampire was definitely not requesting it; his words were a stern order.

I heard the other vampire chuckle again, though the laughter was nothing but a quiet breath against my skin. A second later, the body behind me disappeared and I lost my balance enough to go stumbling backwards. I flinched as I rammed into a new form, but the gentle hands that gripped me assured my panicked mind of who was now steadying my trembling frame. I was too shaky to bother pushing away from the cold touch.

"You know, the next time you decide to lie about a human's life," came the monster's voice, farther away this time, "you should be more precautious with what you say. These things bring consequences."

The vampire's chest rumbled with his responding growl, but somehow I couldn't fear the sound while I leaned back against him. In the background of the drumming of my heartbeat in my ears, I could hear the monster leave with quick steps. It was all I needed to manage to inhale a deep breath.

"It's alright," the vampire murmured, his voice tense and very close. "He's gone."

I exhaled in a shaky sigh. "He's the one who…"

"I know."

There was something about his tone, a thorny edge in the usual velvetiness that made my sanity return enough to allow me to realize that we now had an audience. Three vampires had silently trailed to linger in a small crowd a few feet away and were now watching us with surprisingly obvious curiosity. If not for their ruby irises and immortal beauty, I would've thought of them as a group of old and wrinkly gossipmongers.

Without warning, they all snapped their eyes to a point on my right. I turned my head to see what had caught their interest and sighed quietly in relief as I was rewarded with the sight of Anya's bronze hair. She seemed to have stopped in her tracks to take in the image in front of her and I could see honest confusion settle on her face while her eyes slowly flitted from spot to spot. I said nothing as she gazed at me for a brief moment, which made her turn to the vampire behind me. After seeing more of him than I possibly could from where I was leaning back against his chest, she darted to his side to place a hand on his arm.

"Dominic." Anya's voice was quiet and warning. "You're not thinking clearly right now."

"Take Amber back to the room, will you?" he asked, quite rudely dismissing her words.

I twisted around to watch them while they stared at each other for a long moment, their equally dark gazes exchanging a conversation too delicate to involve _my_ opinion. It wasn't until then that I realized how Anya's fingers were gripping his arm as a restraint, not a comfort.

Finally, Anya let out a reluctant sigh and tore her hand away from him. I didn't object as she separated me from the vampire by placing her gentle fingers on my back and neither did I say a thing as she started moving me toward the corridor I'd been busy running off to before Cody had stopped me. I turned my head just as the mahogany-haired vampire shifted his eyes to the small audience and I saw how they all blinked in a manner I normally would've found amusing before they dispersed. Even with them gone, the vampire started striding in the direction of where they'd stood, his hands clenched in unnervingly tight fists. A part of my mind wondered if it was his attempt to control his anger or if he was simply preparing to punch anything in reach.

"Are you alright?"

Anya's soft voice made my head whip back around. I looked at her in surprise and she raised her eyebrows in an inquisitive manner.

"Everything's fine," was my automatic reply.

"That's not what I was asking," she murmured.

I glanced down at the floor while she continued gently leading me forward. Though I hadn't been able to pick out the sound of the mahogany-haired vampire's footsteps before, I somehow knew he was all but vanished now.

"_I'm_ fine, too," I said quietly.

"Then why have you been crying?" Anya inquired softly.

I'd forgotten about the tears. Quickly, I dried the remaining ones with my hands before my eyes met her black ones. Hiding deep in her dark gaze was a concern meant for graver subject than my own mood, and I frowned as I suddenly realized what she was up to.

"Anya, what's going on?" I asked.

My abrupt change of interest made her blink in surprise, but her voice was far too innocent as she replied, "What do you mean?"

"Where is he going?" I urged.

I knew by the look on her face that she was aware of whom I was referring to, but there was resolute glint there, too, that showed that she wasn't planning on giving in to my prompting. Instead, she offered me a slight smile – I wasn't sure if it was meant as an apology or to comfort me – just as she stopped to push the vampire's bedroom door open.

And, suddenly, the thought of what the mahogany-haired vampire had stormed off to do felt so irrelevant that I took no time to linger outside in the dangerous hallway. Before Anya could gesture for me to step past her, I'd already hurried inside and crawled beneath the covers of the king-sized bed. The comforter was cool after such a long moment of no human – or vampire – contact, but the warmth of my progressively trembling body was quickly starting to radiate through the soft material.

I couldn't hear Anya's movements, but I wasn't particularly surprised when I felt the bed shift beside me. I glanced up to look at her where she was lolled back against the headboard of the bed, occupying the vampire's side like it was her own.

"Perhaps it _won't_ be such a good idea to tell you of Dominic's whereabouts again," she said softly, though I knew she'd never intended to reveal them in the first place.

"Perhaps," I agreed anyway and buried myself deeper into the mattress.

I closed my eyes for a moment to keep the sanity safely stored inside my mind. My whole frame was shaking with a new, stronger wave of after-shock and I flinched as I felt a hand land gently on my head. As I peeked through my eyelashes at the person beside me, Anya was watching me with an expression of genuine concern.

"Why are you so nice?"

My words slipped out before I could stop them, but she only smiled and patted my head again.

"I mean," I continued, less blunt now, "the last time we talked, I treated you like… Well, like crap. And I've never given you any reason to be kind to me. So, why are you so nice?"

The corners of her lips were still lifted as she murmured, "You remind me of someone."

"Who?" I asked while curiosity found its way through my trembling body.

Her dark eyes met mine fully and the graveness in them contrasted oddly to her smile. I could do no more than stare inquisitively.

"Well, you remind me a little of myself, around the time when I'd just been turned," she admitted, watching my face as if she was guardedly waiting for a reaction of horror.

"That's impossible," I found myself saying. "I'm all…damaged."

"You're not damaged," she objected. "You've just lost your way."

I stared silently at her. A tiny part of me took notice in the fact that my tremors had ceased.

"And I can relate to that," Anya continued, her voice progressively dampening. "I'm not saying we're going through equal things, but I do know how you feel and I remember how much I wanted someone to be there for _me_. So I'm not going to let you go through this by yourself, Amber."

She looked so serene where she sat, so impossibly kind in comparison to my general opinion of vampires. I thought I felt fresh tears press up behind my eyelids. My sensitivity was on a high these days.

"I don't wanna feel this way," I admitted, quietly. "All the anger and fe—" I stopped myself before the word '_fear_' could slip out. Not even Anya was allowed to know of that part. Quickly, I changed my answer to, "I hate all the anger."

Of course she had enough decency to pretend not to notice my first, interrupted reply. "I can't tell you how to feel and how _not_ to feel," she said instead, softly, "but I think that, no matter how hard it seems, you can't let your hatred for us vampires get the best of you. You're too good to let that happen."

I processed this with mild dismay, though I knew that it would never be my intention to allow the hatred to consume me so fully that I wouldn't be able to see clearly. Despising the vampires for what they had done was without doubt a part of my life, but the emotion seemed to have settled too deep to either intensify or erase.

"What did you do?" I asked. "When _you_ were all…"

"Damaged?" she finished inquiringly, a tiny smile on her lips.

"Yeah." I wished I'd had it in me to return the smile. "Damaged."

She slithered down to lie on her back and I silently watched the graceful move.

"It took me a long time," she then said, her voice quiet and lulling, "but eventually I realized that just because I'd lost my human _life_, it didn't mean I had to give up on my _humanity_."

I stared at her for a moment and she turned her head to meet my curious gaze. Her dark eyes would've been so completely inhuman if not for the kindness that filled them. I sighed quietly. This night and all of its drama was really starting to wear down on me.

"For now, though," Anya added just as my eyelids began hovering heavily, "I think the best thing to do is to simply…_be_. If taking time alone to think is what you need, then don't let Dominic or that blonde man distract you in any way."

I was tired enough to actually chuckle mildly at her definition of Cody, though the thought of him saddened me. I closed my eyes just as my short laughter died out.

"I think you should tell Dominic that," I mumbled then. "I wouldn't say he and I…_communicate_ very well."

She was quiet for a second before she surprised me by answering, her tone wondering, "You know, that's the first time I've ever heard you say his name."

I waited for the rush of shock to crash through me, but with my eyes fully closed to the horrifying reality, I couldn't feel anything but a gentle twitch of surprise. I had no idea what had caused me to open up so completely to the idea of him and, though blaming it on exhaustion momentarily worked, I soon started fearing what this new realization would bring tomorrow.

Sighing, I shook the disturbing thoughts off and focused on the calm breathing beside me. For a long moment, I was content with the silence and the upcoming relief of sleep, but eventually, Anya's other words seemed to fully settle in me. I scrunched my eyebrows together in a confused frown.

"Anya?" I asked in a nearly incoherent mumble.

"Mm?"

"How do you know about Cody?"

She laughed then, the bell-like sound bouncing through the room. I didn't have the energy to peer up at her, but I sharpened my ears just as she replied, "Didn't I tell you? Vampires gossip like old ladies."

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><p><strong>[Insert a finishing sentence about reviews]<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, so, I might've been a little lazy this past month, but I finally have a new chapter written. (Kudos to me, right?) And, though I _could_ lie and say that I'll be spending as much of my time outside in the (apparently non-existent) sun now that school's out, I'll just be frank and promise that I'll be dragging my laptop around to finish as many chapters as I can before fall - even if that makes me completely anti-social. ;)**

**/B.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TEN<strong>

_Don't hurt me, I bleed constantly._  
><em>My efforts leave me, but flow back swiftly.<em>

_(Kina Grannis)_

As I awoke in the morning, I didn't need more than the sound of another pair of working lungs beside me to know that Anya had left some time during my slumber to give back the space to the mahogany-haired vampire. His breathing, though just as soft and slow as anyone else's, had been one of the very few things to focus on during my sleepless nights, and by now the lulling melody was memorized so finely that I knew I'd be able to pick it out anywhere. I tried my best to imitate the steady inhales and exhales, hoping to be coaxed back into sleep before the thoughts of last night could return, but eventually I had to give up and face reality.

Slowly – almost cautiously – I peeked through my eyelashes to look at the vampire, suddenly afraid that the anger from hours ago had become a permanent expression on his face. I took time to study the slightest of a parting between his full lips and the way his hair seemed rather black than dark mahogany in the soothing shadow of the curtains, before I finally let my eyes seek their way up to the thick lashes that were moving with the faint flickering of his eyelids. I let out a tiny breath of relief at the sight. No fury, no irritation – no _anything_.

I began imitating his slow breaths again while I watched him for another moment, biding my time before I carefully tried out his name just like I had the night before.

_Dominic_.

My pensiveness both amused and irritated me. He wasn't even awake and yet here I was, cautious just to _think_ his name—

"Stop staring at me."

A jolt of shock surged through me. I gently pressed my hand over my chest, covering my heart just as it started its frenzied beating.

"Jeez." To my surprise, my outburst came out in a sigh rather than a gasp. "You couldn't have _tried_ another approach?"

He answered by rolling over onto his stomach; the movement brought him so much closer that I could feel the soft fabric of his T-shirt brush by my arm. With an awkward glance his way, I shuffled further toward the edge of the bed.

"Do you mind?" I still asked.

Due to the fact that his face was buried in a pillow, I could just barely hear him as he replied, "You're clearly not sleeping, so stop hogging the bed."

"It's a _king-sized_ bed!"

He didn't give me an answer this time. Irritated, I shoved against his shoulder to push him back toward the empty space he'd left behind. A second later, he'd caught both my wrists in just one, cold hand.

"Why don't you go fetch yourself some breakfast?"

My stomach purred quietly at the thought of food, but both Dominic's grumpy mood and the return of the fear from last night made my hunger go away without protest.

"I'm not going back there," I objected. The fact that he was still clutching my wrists made me sound more annoyed than determined. Still, I added, "I don't really feel like dying today."

Dominic sighed and used his other hand to push himself up a few inches. If a human had cast me the tired look he did then, I knew I would've felt both irrelevant and childish, but instead I only stared back silently, unfazed.

"If you're referring to Antonio," he said, "I can promise you that he won't be a problem."

I tried my best not to shudder at the sound of that name, but a slight shiver still managed to tremble down my spine. I directed my dismay at Dominic by asking, "He won't be a problem? He could've _killed_ me last night! What makes you think he won't try it again?"

"He won't be a problem," Dominic simply repeated, his tone of voice shifting into something more intense.

I wanted to stare doubtingly at him, but there was a certain honest note in his voice that made it hard to believe in anything but his words. He let go of my wrists and slumped back down against the mattress, leaving me posed as I was while I pondered my options. It wasn't like I had more than two, but I really didn't wish to spend my morning pressed up against Dominic any more than I wanted to wander the halls on my own.

Finally, I let out a quiet sigh and rolled out of the warm bed. Without me in it, Dominic's temporarily cooled skin was bound to dampen the temperature enough to make it less comfortable. The thought of that made me smile smugly while I, without bothering to change out of my pajamas, carefully opened the bedroom door and snuck outside.

My memories of which ways to turn to get to the kitchen were vague, but I stupidly trusted my instincts by changing my path every now and then. I had no idea what time it was – the fear and nervousness in me made it difficult just to remember which _year_ it was – but judging by the lack of sounds, it was far too early in the morning to have any vampire leaving their bed. Though the idea of that wasn't all too convincing, it was soothing enough to calm my sprinting heartbeat.

To my surprise, the kitchen was just the same as the rest of the house as I eventually entered it. In comparison to the crowd I'd seen in there just hours ago, I was genuinely surprised to find that only _two_ women were standing by one of the counters, speaking to each other in hushed voices. As one of them caught sight of me, however, she instantly silenced and hurried out another door I'd escaped noticing last night. The other woman sent a brief but kind smile my way before she followed her friend.

"Nice to meet you, too," I mumbled in irony, before I sighed and padded over to the fridge to raid it.

Settled on making French toast, I went with grabbing a half-filled box of butter, two eggs and a package of milk. I kicked the door to the fridge shut with my foot to prevent myself from harming the eggs, but my efforts were rendered useless as I, just seconds later, dropped the fragile objects in reaction to seeing the person that had been standing silently right behind the door.

I gasped just as the sound of the cracking eggs reached my ears.

Cody flinched away from both my slight outburst and the mess on the floor, but he wasn't quick enough. The yellow substance of the eggs splashed up on his boots and, without caring about _whom_ the troubled person was, I instinctively left my other ingredients on a counter and grabbed the nearest dishcloth on my way down to clean up the mess I'd made. However, my hand stopped just an inch from his shoe as I suddenly recognized it from a moment _very_ different from this. A second later, disgust crashed through me in a merciless wave.

"It's alright, I got it," Cody said as he bent down with a cloth of his own in hand.

I jerked away from him before his face could level with mine. The confounded glance I received from him haunted me as I returned to the fridge to grab new eggs, but I did my best to ignore him while I slammed the door shut and started a clueless search for bread. In the background, I couldn't help but hear the unpleasantries Cody was muttering at the slimy consistency he was busy drying up.

Silently, I went through cabinet after cabinet, getting more and more frustrated with each one I found filled with either plates or glasses of countlessly various types. The way I kept slamming the cabinet doors with more and more strength eventually seemed to catch Cody's attention, because a moment later I heard his voice behind me again.

"Try the one over there."

I reluctantly glanced back at him and, without really looking at the unexpected patience on his face, I followed the direction he was pointing a finger in. Slowly, I opened the recommended cabinet. It wasn't much of a shocker that it was filled with several bags of different bread.

I grabbed one of the bags without much consideration. Then, I intentionally chose a counter further away from where Cody was still standing and refrained from thanking him for the advice while I slinked past him to grab the butter and milk I'd left by the fridge. A warm hand brushed by my elbow while I snatched the remaining ingredients and I moved on instinct as I skipped a step to the side to stop Cody from getting a good grip on my arm. He didn't give it another attempt, either because he'd noticed my flinch or because of the fact that I was back across the kitchen in the matter of seconds.

I went back to ignoring him while I found myself a mixing bowl and strategically started preparing my breakfast. The simple task probably would've been a lot easier if I hadn't been so irritatingly aware of the intense stare I could feel boring holes into my face.

"What are you making?"

"Don't start," I mumbled.

In my peripheral vision, I saw him take a few steps closer. I quickly busied myself with cracking the eggs.

"I only asked you a simple question," he said innocently.

"Fine," I sighed, glancing up at him for little more than two seconds before looking back at the bowl I was starting to pour unmeasured milk into. "French toast."

"I didn't know you could—"

"Look, I'm sure you're only trying to be polite here, but I'm _not_ interested in small talk."

He didn't flinch away from my harsh words; instead, they only brought him several steps closer. I focused on the bowl while he leaned against the opposite side of the counter I was using.

"So, you won't listen to my apologies, you won't have even a _minute_ of civil conversation…" He paused for a moment as if waiting for me to look up at him. As I didn't, he continued with a more tired tone of voice. "What _do_ you want, then?"

I didn't even give him a minute of deliberation before I answered, "French toast. I want French toast."

"Amber."

I glanced up at him again. He was watching me with too much seriousness in his blue eyes.

"Alright, you want _civil conversation_?" I questioned. "Well, then let's start with your shoes. I see you cleaned them."

His eyebrows lifted just a little bit, but the rest of his face reflected all of the confusion I imagined he was feeling. I knew I sounded senseless, but the image of his sturdy boots had disturbed me ever since I'd noticed them. The last time I'd seen him wear them, we'd both been out in the desert, living a life so different from this it was almost hilarious.

Bluntly, I continued with, "Just tell me, did it take you long to get all the sand off?"

The realization flashed to life like a lighthouse amid the stormy sea that was his eyes. He didn't give me a reply to the frank question; he knew as well as I did that I had been looking for confirmation rather than a truthful answer. Instead, he slowly lifted himself from the marble counter and walked around it to stand just inches from me. I unwillingly left my bowl of ingredients to turn and face him completely.

"So you _are_ curious about the whole…_betraying_?"

I rolled my eyes lightly, though I wasn't sure if it was an appropriate reaction. "Of course I'm curious. But it doesn't mean I wanna talk about it."

"Well, how about this." He lifted his hands and gestured with them as if he was making a profitable offer. "You get to ask me anything about it, and I promise I'll give you nothing but honest answers?"

"I just told you I don't wanna talk about it."

He only stared at me as if I hadn't spoken. The anticipation in his stormy blue eyes both teased and irritated me, but finally I folded my arms across my chest and gave in with a slight sigh.

"What's her name?" I asked, my voice cool and matter-of-factly. I hoped it would be enough to convince him that I really wasn't doing this because of any _need_ to hear the answers.

He knew in an instant that I was referring to his sister, and he took no time to either cheer or hesitate before he said, "Emma."

_Emma_. I tried the name along with the clear memory of her face.

"How old is she now?"

"Eleven."

"So it's been two years since…?"

"Since they found us," he finished for me. He didn't seem surprised that I hadn't forgotten the – apparently – false story about his own history with the vampires.

I processed these few facts for a moment before I asked, "Do they feed on her?"

In an instant, the calm on his face dissolved into a blend of disbelief and mild fury. The defensive anger reminded me of the night when he'd stopped me from escaping, and the memory brought a sour taste of hatred to my mouth.

"Do you really think I'd let them?" he replied quite fiercely.

"It's possible."

He drew a hand through his tousled, blonde hair in clear frustration, but to my surprise, he sounded much calmer as he said, "Amber, I get that you hate me for turning you in, but I would _never_ let those leeches touch her."

The sincerity in his voice was too powerful to be feigned. I narrowed my eyes in speculation while the fury slowly trickled out of my system, leaving a large space of room for the new realization that slowly dawned on me. Pensively, I tried out my new theory.

"Is that… Is _that_ why you did it?" I asked, softer than before. "To protect your sister?"

I almost expected him to snort or laugh at the wild assumption, but instead he only stared at me with a nearly defeated look on his face. I watched him with unshielded surprise, taken off guard by the fact that I'd been correct.

"I lied to you about the night they found Emma," he said quietly, answering my question with a confession different than the one I'd been looking for. "I was there with her. I saw how ready they were to kill us and I knew that, in that moment, I'd give anything to spare her. So I panicked. I asked them to kill only me and let her live."

"But they didn't," I whispered.

"No." His silent voice turned slightly bitter. "They had a much better plan."

"That's why you turned me in." I sounded too tiny for my own liking, but his honesty was mildly disorienting after my latest time of constantly facing either lies or half-hidden truth.

He nodded. "As long as I'm helping them, she stays alive."

This was too much for my mind to grasp at such an early hour.

"So you…you're _not_ on their side?"

"No!" Though the simple word was filled with exasperation, he managed to make it sound soft. His hands snuck around the back of my neck and into my tousled hair, pulling me so close that our foreheads were gently touching. His voice turned into a murmur as he said, "Of course I'm not."

I let out a mild sigh, though for what I did not know. When standing nose to nose with him – a distance so short our warm breaths were practically mingling – it was hard to fight my earlier feelings. Without him around, it had been quite an easy task to forget about my affections for him, but now… Now, with him so brutally honest in front of me, the heart-clenching emotions were threatening to outmaneuver the bitterness and overthrow my judgment completely.

Brusquely, I pushed away from him and stumbled back a few steps. He remained where he was, but I could almost _sense_ how he could've just as easily followed my clumsy movements.

"Thanks, I guess," I managed to get out. "For explaining."

"It doesn't change the way you feel, does it?" he asked. The dejection in his voice told me he was already sure of the answer.

I cursed myself for feeling pity when I detected the sadness that was swimming in his stormy eyes. I had to take a few seconds to push the emotions away before I said, "I wish there was some hope to give you, Cody, but…I know already that I'll probably never be able to really forgive you for turning me in. And I'm sorry if you think that makes me narrow-minded, but… I just can't."

He nodded slightly before he took a slow step back, as if ready to leave. An unfamiliar desperation flared up in me and forced me to quickly run up to him and grab one of his hands with both of mine.

"It doesn't mean that we have to, like, _shun_ each other," I quickly continued. "I'm willing to try to be friends, as long as you tell me the full truth. No more lies."

"I won't lie to you again," he promised, "but just being friends is not what I want."

The indication hiding in his words suddenly made me acutely aware of how easy it would be to lean in and kiss him. I frowned while vague memories from my last twelve days out in the desert slowly flickered through my mind. Cody's grin in the unshielded light of the moon, our fingers entwined in the warm sand, his lips inching closer to mine… With his words ringing in my ear, I was abruptly very unsure what to do with the repressed moments. Had they all been true?

"Now, I don't know if I'm wrong," Cody continued, quietly, "but I don't think being friends is what you want either."

I glanced away from his eyes, but the way his free hand sought its way up to my neck again made it hard to focus on anything but him. Since I was out of ideas on how to answer him, I simply went with pretending not to hear the comment by saying, "I'm…sorry, for not letting you explain before."

I heard him let out a tiny sigh before he answered, "No, I think I needed the time. I didn't really know how to talk to you after I found out that that…_leech_ had claimed you for himself. And you deserved some distance after I caught you trying to escape in the middle of the night—"

"Yeah, about that," I cut him off. A mild anger threatened to flare up inside. "Why would you stop me?"

"I _am_ sorry for how I treated you, but I won't apologize for stopping you," he said, suddenly much graver. "You don't know what would've happened. We're far from the desert, Amber, and these vampires know their way around better than you think. The second your vampire would've noticed, you wouldn't have had the chance to _blink _before he'd found you. And I don't think he would've been very forgiving."

There were a few parts I wanted to argue against, but I chose to say, "He's not _my_ vampire, Cody. He's _a _vampire."

Cody didn't seem to take my correction into consideration. I sighed, irritated at _him_ for building up such ridiculous images and at the same time annoyed with _myself_ for not pushing him away and making a run for the bedroom. How was it that, when I thought I hated Cody as much as humanly possible, I winded up stumbling over the edge and right into his warm arms?

"Could I ask one thing from you?"

I blinked to focus again. During my silent speculations, I hadn't noticed how his hands had abandoned their previous spots to linger tentatively on either side of my waist. The flames his touch had brought me weeks – or was it months? – ago were dampened with the lost time, but I could still feel a tingling through the thin shirt I was wearing.

"That depends," I answered, almost perfectly composed.

"I'm worried about Emma," Cody explained. In my mind, I saw the sad little girl. "I don't trust that they won't hurt her while I'm gone."

"So you want me to keep an eye out for her while you're…," – I couldn't bare finishing the question as I'd first planned – "_away_?"

I saw the '_yes_' in his blue eyes.

"I'll do it," I promised, and then added warningly, "But it's not for you."

He nodded, though I had a feeling he knew my last words had been more of a lie than an admonishment. His fingers, warm even through the layer of my clothing, brushed my waist in a move not quite accidental but still unintentional enough to make me unsure on how to respond. Luckily, the sound of the door swinging open saved me.

I turned my head to find out who'd decided to intrude the moment. I wasn't sure whether to feel relief or annoyance as I watched Dominic pull to a stop a foot from the door to glance my way.

"Amber?"

Cody's lowered voice made me turn back around. I raised my eyebrows inquiringly, prompting him to continue.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

It didn't take a genius to figure what he meant, but I still hesitated before I asked, "How long…?"

"A week, at the most." He glanced over my head and then back at me. "Look, I'm not asking you to be at her side all the time, just—"

"Just to make sure she's alright," I finished for him.

He nodded before his eyes shifted again. I followed his stormy gaze this time to sneak a glance at the vampire behind me. Dominic had swiftly gone from watching me to ignoring both of us, and was now poking around with a spoon in my earlier mix of ingredients. The utter lack of interest on his alabaster face assured me that he really wasn't taking an interest in my conversation.

Cody, however, didn't seem to understand this. I felt the atmosphere change while he slinked away, moving for the door and thereby putting a definite strain to any possible change of topic.

"Thank you," he murmured to me.

Then, without explaining which part of the morning he was thanking me for, he headed out the door.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," I mumbled a second too late.

I heard Dominic scrape around in the bowl with his spoon, bringing me out of the almost fuzzy state I'd been lured into by Cody's confessions and warm touches. With a quiet hemming of my throat, I turned back to my abandoned breakfast and quite patiently waited for Dominic to give it back to me.

It took him no more than two seconds to respond to my stare.

"I see you two made up," he said calmly, still gazing down at the mix of milk and eggs.

"I _don't_ see how that's any of your business," I answered just as tranquilly, though my words were meant to be harsher than my soft voice indicated.

He looked up from the bowl with the echo of a smile on his lips. I stared back at him silently while I waited for him to give up on stirring my recently started breakfast. His black eyes were an abrupt change after gazing into Cody's stormy blue ones for so long.

"Where is everyone?" I finally asked, changing the subject.

"No one works on Sundays," he answered with ease.

"Religious?"

"Just polite," he corrected.

I scoffed, and he shook his head slightly before he looked back down at the bowl. I thought of reaching out my hand and snatching the bowl from him, but the way he was appraising the contents of it made me sure he knew better what to do with it than I did. So, instead, I only hopped up on the counter and watched him silently while he easily fixed my obviously failed attempt at French toast. Within minutes, the kitchen was filling with the delicious scents of food.

I kept waiting for Dominic to say something, but to my surprise, the only sounds he made while he – with his back turned to me – made my breakfast were a few, barely audible sighs. I chose to remain just as quiet while I studied the smooth curve of his shoulders and the way I could see him go rigid every now and then, as if the same worrying thought was popping up in his mind at a constant rate. At least once or twice, I deliberated actually asking him what had him so tense, but then I reminded myself of his usual hesitance and quickly dismissed the silly idea.

So, instead, I only sat there, pondering, until he finally turned around with a plate of French toast. His black eyes met mine as he found me staring and, if I hadn't been too startled to look away, I probably wouldn't have noticed how he took just a tiny second to glance down at my half-revealed neck and then back up at my face.

But that was all it took, that tiny glance. In an instant, my mind filled with the images of last night and made it hard to see anything but unshielded fangs and blazing eyes and seething rage. I stiffened with a confusing fear while the expression on his face changed from questioning to apologizing.

He kept my eyes locked with his while he pensively crossed the distance between us, approaching me like a ticking bomb ready to explode at any second. I didn't even blink while he set the plate of breakfast down beside me on the counter, though I couldn't deny that the fear was slowly losing its hold on me to allow a mild embarrassment to cloud my mind instead. I was turning more and more paranoid with every day I spent here.

Dominic seemed to miss the change of my emotions, though, because a few seconds later he murmured, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The well-known phrase made me relax from my rigid pose – not for the meaning of the words, but for the fact that him saying them meant he was far from turning into the true vampire I'd seen last night. He held my gaze for another long second, obviously regarding the change in my brown eyes, before he followed Cody's earlier example by heading out the door without another word. I didn't turn to look after him.

While I sat there on the counter, all alone in the empty kitchen that now seemed to _smell_ of fear rather than French toast, I slowly let my hand brush by the skin on my neck where Dominic's black eyes had lingered. Beneath the tips of my careful fingers, I could feel the thumping of my pulse.

_I'm not going to hurt you_.

I had to trust those words.

But then, perhaps my most feared predator was the one that was managing to make me trust him the most.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_The one that you were looking for,_  
><em>you're not gonna find her here.<em>  
><em>The one that you were looking for,<em>  
><em>you're not gonna find her here, here.<em>

_(Sea Wolf)_

"So, ugh," I said awkwardly. "Your brother tells me you're eleven."

The little girl refused to meet my gaze while she let her slim legs dangle in the air. She seemed distant, lost in the world she'd created for herself during the past two lonely years. Ever so quietly, she mumbled, "Mm."

"Well, when's your birthday?"

Emma still wasn't looking at me, but her voice was slightly more alert as she answered, "October 14th."

I realized just then that I had no clue what date it was. To make up for my lack of such simple knowledge, I continued with, "What do you wish for?"

Her shoulders jerked in a feeble shrug.

"Aw, come on," I prompted softly. "There must be something."

She sat silently for a moment while I watched the expression on her face grow blanker. A slight guilt settled in me as I understood that my words were nothing but cruel to a girl who, like me, had lost just about everything.

"When's yours?"

I blinked a few times in surprise as she spoke again, but automatically answered, "February 21st."

Something about my reply seemed to have fascinated Emma, because she finally looked up at me with a dull surprise twinkling in her blue eyes. The light of the morning sun that was shining in from the kitchen window made it possible to detect the faded dimples that adorned her cheeks, giving me the illusion of a child with constant smiles on her lips. It burned painfully inside of me to see what this monstrous world had done to her now.

"That's really soon," she said mildly.

"Is it?"

She nodded. "It's in…" Her small hands went up as she slowly counted the days on her fingers. As she finished, there was a pleased hint in her baby blue eyes. "It's in _this_ many days."

I felt the shock twitch to life inside of me as I watched her seven, straightened fingers. The time I'd lost out in the desert made it difficult to grasp that I was turning nineteen in no more than a _week_. Three years ago, before I found out about the vampires, the upcoming birthday had been no more than my _six_teenth.

"That _is_ soon," I agreed.

My answer came a few seconds later than a normal one should've, but Emma didn't seem to mind.

"Will you get a cake?"

I smiled slightly while I tried to picture Dominic bringing me candles and a cake. The image was so surreal it was purely ironic.

I opened my mouth to tell a tiny, white lie, but a soft voice interrupted me.

"Who's getting a cake?"

I glanced up from Emma to find that an older and vaguely familiar woman had noiselessly entered the kitchen. Her eyes, unique in their turquoise tone, were surrounded by warm laugh lines – a feature that fitted well with her disheveled tousle of light copper hair and the kind grin she had plastered on her face. Even in a simple outfit identical to the one I'd seen on Juanita, she looked so energetic that I felt utterly flat and boring.

"Maggie, it's her birthday in this many days," Emma chirped in, quite eagerly showing the same number of fingers as she had before.

The woman – Maggie, apparently – only widened her smile and questioned, "Is it, now?"

To my surprise, the woman's grin made a responding but far more timid one spread on my lips.

"Well, then," Maggie continued, obviously taking my smile for a _yes_ to her question, "of course there should be a cake."

I looked after her as she turned and started rummaging through the cabinets, clearly returning to whatever task she'd been about to complete when first entering the kitchen. The quick mechanism of her hands as she quickly found the right ingredients and started flicking them into a bowl revealed that she'd been here far longer than me.

I glanced down at Emma to make sure she was alright before I snuck over to where Maggie had chosen to stand.

"I know it might sound weird," I quietly said, "but I'd really like it if no one else knew of my birthday."

"Not a fan of attention?" Maggie guessed, still smiling.

"Definitely not when I'm receiving it from vampires," I replied. I wanted to give her my less close-mouthed answer – that a birthday was supposed to be filled with smiles and laughter rather than hostile monsters just outside the door who would gladly kill me, nineteen or not – but Emma's presence hindered me.

Maggie stopped in her movements and turned her head to look at me with a new speculative glint in her turquoise eyes. I stared back questioningly until she asked, "You're the girl they let live, aren't you?"

Her sudden guess threw me off guard, but I found myself answering, "That would be me, yeah. I usually go by Amber, though."

"Well, Amber," she said, grinning. I couldn't help but smile back again. "Are you any good at baking?"

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went smoother than I'd first expected. The time flew by quickly while I helped Maggie and, when noon came and she finally had to leave, I needed less than an hour to realize that Emma was sweeter than any child I'd ever met. Either this world had made her softer to those of her own or she'd just managed to cling to her personality while the vampires had tried to pry it from her slim fingers.<p>

No matter the reason, I found myself growing fonder and fonder of her. Though it took me quite a while just to get a tiny smile out of her, the image of her dimples printed itself into my mind and made it my mission to see a fully developed grin. And, by the time the sun was threatening to vanish from the reddening sky, her lips had lifted into so many smiles that I didn't doubt her cheeks were aching just as much as mine.

The one and only thing I couldn't fully get past, however, was the fact that every little move she made, either as in a simple gesticulation of her hands or as a surprised arching of her eyebrows, reminded me painfully much of Cody. It was one thing to see the many similarities of their features, but a different completely to notice all the things she'd learned from him through subconscious imprinting. Even with Cody miles away, his sister managed to keep the memory of him alive and on fire in me. And I hated myself for blaming _her_ for it.

When Dominic finally made an appearance in the evening, I found it harder than I'd expected to hand the sleepy Emma over to a kind-looking woman. The little girl's eyes widened visibly, allowing the fear in them to swell to a nearly unbearable point, and it didn't take much to figure that I wasn't the only one plagued by either occasional or constant, terrifying nightmares. To soothe her, I offered her the most encouraging smile I could form before Dominic quietly, and carefully, tugged me with him. He'd been cautious around me ever since the day before and, though the flaming color of his irises announced that he'd fed, he seemed to be holding on to the guarded act.

That way, he made it easy for me to ignore him as we walked to the room in silence. While he kept his red eyes focused on a spot in front of us, I let my own brown ones trail around the corridors. Fear split me into trembling pieces when the first vampire passed us by, but as I saw how he was on the verge of literally pressing up against the wall to create a distance, confusion quickly glued my mind back together again. I hadn't particularly expected anyone to snarl at me or strike an attack, but as the same thing happened with the second vampire, the situation started feeling unnerving. I knew I should've been relieved – happy, even – to find out that my wish to be left alone had been granted, but the way no one dared to do so much as watch me from the corner of their eyes made me frown.

I was still lost in these worries as Dominic pulled to a stop and opened the bedroom door. He gestured for me to get inside, but a mild breeze on my neck made me pause and turn my head just as another person hurried by. During the few brief seconds that the stranger's presence was near, he kept his ruby gaze locked on the floor, making him oblivious to my heavy stare. I looked after him while the understanding came creeping into my mind.

Slowly, I let my eyes trail back to the person that'd already walked into the bedroom.

Dominic looked unwaveringly calm where he stood, but now I realized it was only a mask he wasn't privileged with enough control to wear at all times. I'd seen his face turn into the monstrous creature that lurked inside of him: the snarl that allowed the sight of his fangs, the eyes blazing with untamable fury… I wasn't sure what it was that helped me make the connection, but in an instant, I was certain of what must've gone down after he'd stormed off two days ago. And, shuddering, I understood that the face I'd seen had only been a weak grimace in comparison to the reaction he'd later shown to the rest of the vampires.

His eyes locked with mine and I felt a surprising nervousness slip into my system while his vividly colored gaze alerted me of how he was trying to interpret where my thoughts were heading. One of his dark eyebrows moved an inch, hinting to lift into an inquiring arch.

I fidgeted. Now that I knew he could scare off a dozen of vampires, I didn't want to cross him ever again.

But, also knowing _myself_, I was quite convinced I wouldn't last ten minutes without stumbling upon a new way to ruin that plan.

* * *

><p>Like every other of the six mornings of the week without Cody, I walked into the kitchen to find Emma already awake and perched on her favorite chair with a plate of breakfast in front of her. A hidden maternal part of me softened with warmth as she glanced up and let her dimples grow more prominent in an adorable, toothy smile. Grinning back, I hopped up on the counter beside her and watched until she returned to snacking on her pancakes.<p>

I let my legs dangle back and forth in the air while I turned my eyes to the closest window, easily losing my thoughts to the beautiful sight of the rising sun. The view, though lovely, was not as great as I imagined it to be from the second floor, but for the moment I was content with watching the reddish sun that was slowly raising above the tops of the dark green trees. I thought I saw water glimmer to life in the blissful light, but even if I arched my neck, I couldn't be quite sure from where I was sitting.

A squeal from beside me made me jump. I glanced back at Emma, on instant alert for danger, but she was no longer in her seat. Panicked, I whipped around.

My alarmed senses silenced with a tiny sigh from me as I understood the reason for her swift outburst and, slowly, a smile spread on my lips to outmaneuver my worried frown as I watched the girl sprint right into the waiting arms of her brother. He swept her up in the air and spun her around in a few circles before he let her feet touch the floor again. I heard her giggle dizzily; the sound was even cuter than her dimples.

After gently tousling her blonde hair – it was in angelic curls due to the braid she'd asked me to make on the night before – he lifted her back up on the chair, to which she responded with another chuckle. I was still smiling like a fool as he turned to me and stepped closer, but my happiness drained with a drastic pull a second later when the sight of him reminded me of _where_ he'd just returned from. There were faint, dark circles under his stormy blue eyes – a reaction to little and poor sleep, no doubt – and his skin was a pattern of both dirt and vague bruises. The only part of his face that didn't _reek_ of tiredness was the grin he'd put on, but even that seemed to take him an extreme effort.

I tried my best to force another smile, hoping he wouldn't dig too deep into why I couldn't give him a more proper greeting. The subject in matter felt too tender and sore to rip open and, although I knew pushing feelings away wouldn't erase them, I'd rather lock them away in a drawer that no one could, or should, open.

But Cody wasn't aware of that.

"I didn't bring anyone here," he said, quieter and far graver than before.

Inwardly, I cried out in relief. On the outside, however, I was frowning. I couldn't be quite sure if it was just the dirt that was throwing my vision off, but he looked far paler than he had a week ago. It should've been the other way around after a week of the desert's hot sunshine.

"But aren't the vampires mad then?" I asked just as silently. Though it was early in the morning, I couldn't trust that not a single one of them were awake and in ear-shot.

Cody scooted even closer and as he did, the light from the kitchen lamp reflected in the beads of sweat that had broken out on his forehead. My eyebrows lowered further at the sight.

"They can't be mad," he answered, "if there's no one there to bring in."

For some reason, I knew at once that he was lying. Whether it was about the vampires not being mad or the fact that every human had cleared out, I did not know. All I was certain of was that _something_ in his voice screamed of falsity.

I was about to demand him to tell me what he was trying to hide, but my words dissolved on the tip of my tongue as I saw how his balance wavered quite roughly. I grabbed both of his wrists and pulled him closer toward me to keep him from falling. Beneath his damp skin, I could feel his shockingly rapid heartbeat.

"Cody," I said cautiously while I attempted to catch his flickering eyes with my own. It took him a few seconds to fully focus on me, but as he did, I asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

His reply was slurred enough to add another exclamation mark to the warning that was flashing through my mind. I shot the, fortunately, oblivious Emma a quick look before I hopped down from the counter and wrapped my arm around Cody's waist to help him stagger toward the second exit door and the room hidden behind it. It was only a few meters wide, but still had enough space for a bed – I'd noticed that a few of the older staff members liked to take occasional naps in it – and four chairs around a rusty old table. Although it was an abrupt change from the usual elegance of this mansion of a house, I'd come to like it for what little it had to offer.

Peace and quiet, that was.

I helped a slightly reluctant Cody over to the poorly made bed and made sure he was settled back steadily against the wall before I sank down beside him. I wasn't sure if it was only my imagination or if he was sweating even worse.

"I told you I'm fine," he mumbled, though the look in his eyes was more grateful than he probably knew he let on.

"Yeah, well, I don't believe you," I answered softly. He eased my worry slightly by shooting me a short-lasted smile, but I still added, "So, if you'll just stay put for a while, I'll go get Thomas…"

A warm hand gripped my wrist as I attempted to get up again. I looked back at Cody in surprise to find him staring at me with a sort of incoherent intensity.

"He's not some savior, you know," he said.

"Wha—"

"I bet he's compelled you a hundred times more than he's tried normal conversation."

I glanced at the door and then back at the disoriented man beside me. The fact that he'd brought up Dominic didn't concern me as much as the abrupt _way_ he'd done it.

Slowly, though, Cody's words sank in and I frowned in objection. I knew that Dominic had used mind compulsion during the time when I'd refused to eat the food he'd brought, but aside from my very first few minutes with him, he hadn't resorted to the filthily inhumane tactic.

"I would know if he had," I answered as calmly as I could. "I would know if he'd taken my will away."

"No, you _wouldn't_. It doesn't work that way, Amber."

I tried to get up again, though it was now rather to hurry away than to find him a doctor. The sweaty grip on my arm tightened to keep me in place.

"You think _I'm_ the only bad guy here, but ask yourself this." Cody's voice was beginning to sound slurry again, but his stormy eyes remained just as intense. I couldn't remember ever feeling so discomforted around him as he continued with, "Don't you find it weird that you don't have him shadowing your every step to make sure you don't run away? Isn't it just a _little_ odd that, while you're free to wander this house all on your own, you haven't tried even _once_ to escape?"

Both his words and behavior were turning my mind soggy. If I could only find my voice, I'd tell him to stop.

"The answer is right in front of you." He lifted his free fingers to snap them in front of my face, but they didn't go even halfway up before his hand slackly dropped to the bed again. It didn't make his focus waver. "He compelled you, Amber! He compel—"

Out of ways to silence him, I did the only thing my frenzied mind could think of.

I kissed him.

I kissed him for none of the right reasons but all the wrong. I kissed him to shut him up. I kissed him because I was afraid, not only for what he was saying but for his state of health. I kissed him because every word leaving his lips was jabbing multiple knives of pain and betrayal into my chest.

And, most importantly, I kissed him because I needed it. It was selfish and mean – I knew that even in my moment of desperation – but I _needed_ to show him that what he'd said about Dominic wasn't true. I _needed_ to show him that I was still the one in control of myself.

Cody's breath was hot on my lips as he, without flinching away to either continue his ramble or question my motives, kissed me back. His hands tangled into my hair, slackly and clumsily enough to pull a few strands from their roots, while my own traveled up to the back of his damp neck to keep him close. For a moment, all there was for both of us to think of was to kiss one another with more fierceness than the other.

And, yet, I instantly knew I regretted it. Despite the tingling in my stomach and the mild flashes of heat where his skin touched mine, I couldn't look past the hurtful truth that I was only kissing him to prove a point, not because of my affections.

Abruptly, I broke away. The only things keeping us locked together were his fingers curled around the honey blonde strands of my hair and the slight bewilderment in his stormy blue gaze. I stared back at him for seconds or minutes – I didn't count – until the realization slowly clouded his previously passionate expression and made him untangle his hands. This time, he didn't stop me as I shakily rose from the bed.

"Let me guess," he said, face pale and voice surprisingly quiet. "You're gonna run right back to that leech and pretend like what I said isn't the truth."

"It _isn't_ true," I whispered, though I had to glance down at the floor to hide the lie from my eyes.

"You know damn well it's true."

I looked back up at him and couldn't help but wince at the visible hurt in his blue eyes.

"God dammit, Amber, just stop—"

But he didn't have time to finish whatever accusation he'd been about to throw my way before the door flew open and Thomas surprised me by hurrying inside. The doctor pulled to a stop as he regarded the scene in the room, but after I did nothing but stare at him with slightly tear-filled eyes, he quickly stalked past me and towards Cody, who was starting to lean closer and closer to the mattress of the bed that was several inches too short for him.

A new knife of regret stabbed me in the chest as he looked away to mutter something at Thomas, but I took the opportunity to silently slink out the door and back into the quite crowded kitchen. One or two glanced my way as I, with tears still glistening in my eyes, hurried past them all, but none stopped me to ask what was wrong. For that, I was more thankful than I'd expected.

I didn't stop my frenzied walk until I was standing outside the bedroom. I'd been planning on running back there and creeping down under the covers to hide myself from the world for an hour or two, but now that I'd reached my destination, I suddenly realized that the person inside was yet another individual I couldn't bare facing at the moment.

Slowly, I turned around and slid down the wall beside the door until I was sitting on the tepid floor. My head lulled back against the beige surface behind me while Cody's words started ringing in my ears.

_The answer is right in front of you. He compelled you, Amber_.

A solitary tear managed to slide down my cheek. In that moment, I wanted comfort more than anything, and yet there was no one there to give it to me. I had more people around me than I'd had for three whole years and somehow, I felt lonelier than I ever had out there in the desert.

I sighed and closed my eyes to the rest of the world. I'd been right when I'd talked to Anya:

I was damaged.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, so I have three things (by "things" I mean "apologies", really) to type here.<br>1. The first '**_**sorry**_**' is for the fact that I completely lost track of time and let this chapter grow lonely among the other documents in its folder. I blame it on the whole free-from-school-thing – I'm already mistaking Tuesdays for Saturdays, and early afternoons for mornings, and yada yada…  
>2. The second one is for only giving you fillers or chapters that lack much action and drama. (It will come, so stay with me!)<br>3. The third is just for the sake of grammatical errors and such (because I never find them until _after_ I've published the chapter).**

**(Also, I know most of you are hoping for Dominic and Amber to **_**swoon**_** over each other, but I won't apologize for the kiss in the last scene…)**

** Now, I don't know if you've stuck with me to this point of the chapter, but if you have, I just wanted to point out that all of your reviews are duly, duly noted and appreciated. I wouldn't be writing this if it weren't for all your sweet words! (I know, I just put that exaggerated sentimental touch to it all…)**

** I'm done now, I promise. **

** :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**I've realized what happens when I try to create a chapter while struggling with severe writer's block: I end up with at least ten different versions of the story - and yet I'm still not happy with any of them. Tonight (it's past midnight for me, anyway) I finally managed to type a few thousand words that fit with how I want to proceed, and so I'm posting this chapter before I have time to change my mind. **

**Hope you enjoy it despite its flaws and that the long pauses between the chappies aren't making you too confused! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER TWELVE<strong>

_It's scary to be fragile in this turning world._  
><em>This world, it turns me upside down.<em>

_(Butterfly Boucher)_

**4.15**

I sighed.

The sound, though almost insignificantly quiet and soft, made the vampire beside me stir in his sleep. His arm brushed by mine for no more than a second before the feeling of his tepid touch was gone, but I still turned my head to look over at him in both envy and mild irritation. The expression on his face was one of utter carefreeness – something I'd been lacking for the past twenty hours or so.

**4.16**

Another soft sigh slinked out my lips while I looked back up in the direction of the ceiling. I really wanted to hate the person beside me – not for his lack of troubles but for his latest act of inhumanity – but, even if I hadn't been momentarily sleep deprived, I didn't know _how_ to. The situation was too messed up; how could I hate someone for taking away a thing I didn't want, or at the very least no longer could _remember_ wanting?

An irritated groan was quick to follow my latest exhale and I covered my face with tired hands. Beside me, I heard Dominic toss again, but this time he seemed to have moved in the direction of the other side of the bed, because his surprisingly soft skin didn't touch mine again.

In the darkness of my hands, I tried my best to discard the most troublesome of my worries and focus on the one remaining:

My birthday.

It was silly to even keep the date in consideration while I was struggling with the idea of Dominic using mind compulsion to keep me within the walls of the mansion, but I couldn't fully blame myself for finding it impossibly surreal that, only four years ago, I'd been sleeping safely in my own bed, in my old house, in my hometown. Neither did I call myself difficult for having a hard time grasping that the bed was now king-sized and that I was forced to share it with a vampire whom I both distrusted and stupidly relied on for protection.

But, in a way, it was still silly.

I peeked through the glimpses of my fingers to sneak a glance at the digital watch that had been placed on the nearest bedside table.

**4.18**

I wasn't going to fall asleep – it was better to just admit it.

So, giving up all together on at least a few hours of deep slumber, I carefully shuffled out of bed. After shooting a brief glance over my shoulder to make sure Dominic's sleep hadn't been bothered, I tip-toed over to the bureau to blindly seek out something that could keep me warm in the cold of the early morning. My hands gripped something of thicker material than the rest of the clothes and, out of sheer curiosity, I pulled the garment out of its territory. Squinting, I tried to get as clear of a view as possible to sort out where I recalled it from.

The realization didn't hit me until I went as far as to smell it. The delicious – I let the adjective slip through the cracks of my mental fences – and masculine scent it carried made a subconscious bell ring, and I glanced behind me again to look at the owner of the sweatshirt. A part of me instantly settled on believing that he'd put the shirt there on purpose to remind me of my failed attempt to escape, but as a stream of silvery moonlight slipped through a crack between the curtains and lit up a part of his peaceful face, the petty thought quickly lost all its convincingness.

I tugged the comfortable sweatshirt on and, ignoring my feeling of déjà vu, I gently opened the bedroom door and snuck out into the dark hallways. During the week, Maggie had been kind enough to inform me that, while I'd thought the house was crawling with vampires at all times, the only few that actually lived here and stayed for the night were the leader, Dominic, Anya and one other I'd had the fortune of dodging. Although this didn't make the daytime any safer for me, it meant that I could use the nights to roam the halls without fearing to run into several hostile vampires.

I chose to follow the only idea I could come up with, so, with quiet steps, I began walking towards the kitchen and the person I hoped was still resting nearby. Deep down, I knew I hadn't really earned the right to worry about him after our latest meeting, but my selfishness was easy to silence while the sun was still at least an hour and half from rising and casting a bright, accusing light on even the most repressed of my thoughts.

I didn't bother fumbling with the kitchen lamp as I entered the cooled room; instead, I used my dim sight as an excuse for being hesitant in my moves as I edged closer to the door I'd had as destination since I'd left Dominic's bedroom. My heart was pounding quite furiously in my ears and my fingers were trembling slightly with an unfamiliar nervousness as I reached for the handle…

I jerked my hand back. I couldn't do it – I couldn't face him right now.

I sighed at myself for being such a coward, but turned to retreat back to the bedroom.

"Amber?"

I flinched in surprise at the sound of Thomas' voice, which was followed by the awakening light of the kitchen lamp. I used my hands as a shield over my blinded eyes while I tried to squint at the man by the other side of the room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, though the surprise in his voice wasn't even half-hearted. Was I really that predictable? "It's half past four in the morning."

I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it again. A few seconds later, I dodged his question by countering with, "How is he doing?"

"Cody? Oh, he's fine, dear," Thomas said softly. "He had a case of heat exhaustion, but since it was caught early, it was easily treated. He should feel better when he wakes up."

"Heat exhaustion," I sighed, relieved. Then, a realization struck me, and I asked, "Wait, how is that possible? He's been out there so many times… He _should_ know how to take care of himself."

I saw how a new expression settled on Thomas' face as he answered, "He does. But the vampires are growing suspicious of him. They think he's starting to betray them."

"So, what, they refuse to give him water?"

Even from across the room, the answer was clear in Thomas' brown eyes.

"But… But that's absurd!" I folded my arms across my chest to stop them from flailing in frustration. "They can't risk his life just because he hasn't found anyone out there! Isn't it true that heat exhaustion can lead to a heat stroke?" Because of how close the desert had been to my hometown, my father – it still hurt to think of him – had warned me countlessly many times about the dangers of being exposed to the sun for too long.

"It's true, yes." He paused to glance over my head, as if he could see Cody through the wall. "But, Amber, I think that their suspicions could be right."

I frowned, taken aback slightly. "You think he's lying?"

Thomas slowly walked toward the kitchen island to seat himself on one of the chairs. I padded closer to lean against the counter beside him with my crossed forearms resting against its cold surface.

"I think," he said, his voice soft and quiet, "that Cody is trying his best to do the right thing."

"Which is?" I inquired.

"Well, that's the problem. What _is_ the right thing to do here?"

My eyebrows drew closer to each other as I realized that he was right. By helping the vampires, Cody was keeping his sister alive, but also gradually giving away bits and pieces of his humanity. There was no way out of the mess that wouldn't result in death, not just for him and his humane personality, but for the only family he had left.

I lowered both eyes and voice as I asked, "You'll make sure he's alright, won't you?"

I watched as Thomas reached across the counter. In response, I released my crossed arms to let him grab my hands.

"Amber," he said. The moment reminded me of when he'd convinced me to find something to live, or at the very least _fight_, for. Right now, I felt just as stirred and restless as I had back then. "He's been stuck here for over two years now and somehow, he still hasn't turned into anything like them. It'll take more than a few suspicious vampires to hurt him."

I wanted to argue against Thomas' words – I'd seen Cody's eyes turn colder and blanker than any vampire's, on the day when he'd turned me in – but the memory of our kiss and the slightly hurtful look I'd seen flicker across his face afterwards stopped me. No matter what dead mask he could put on, there was still enough humanity left in him to let him feel pain – even if just a feeble sting of it.

I wasn't sure what Thomas could read from my silence, but he seemed to have picked up enough clues, because a few seconds later, he added, "But, of course, I'll do what I can to help him."

Our eyes, similar shades of brown, met as I looked up and murmured, "Thank you."

He squeezed my hands once and smiled his kindhearted smile before he let go of me and slid off the chair. I looked down at the counter while he walked past me, clearly heading back to watch over the resting Cody, but my eyes quickly found his again as he pulled to a stop to put a warm hand on my shoulder.

"I'll tell him you came to see him," Thomas offered.

"Don't," I answered softly. "It'll probably make him feel worse."

"Nonsense," Thomas said, but he didn't press it.

He patted my shoulder and then let me become a silent audience as he walked the rest of the way and slinked inside the other room. A part of me itched to follow, to hurry after the doctor and ask to sit there as well. Another part wanted even more: to curl up beside Cody and wait the few hours that remained until sunrise, and then kiss him for the _right _reasons this time.

But, because of the fact that I was still a coward that was undecided about her feelings for Cody, I chose to listen to the part of me that craved an early morning snack.

I pushed myself away from the counter and made my way over to the fridge. Inside it, it didn't take me long to find a chocolate cupcake with a white swirl of frosting on top, lingering restlessly on a plate in the middle of the refrigerator. On top of the ivory-toned frosting was an astoundingly realistic flower made out of baby pink marzipan and beside it, a silvery birthday candle was placed. To top it all off, a folded, white page was resting just by the cupcake. I picked it up and unfolded it with curious fingers.

**SORRY IT COULDN'T BE A WHOLE CAKE, BIRTHDAY GIRL!**  
>- <strong>Maggie<strong>

I smiled a little and shoved the note into the pocket of the sweatshirt I was wearing. I then drew my pinkie finger through the side of the frosting and tasted it. The flavor was just as delicious as the sight made it out to be.

I gripped the plate and carefully pushed the door to the fridge shut. Then, after sending one last telepathic apology in Cody's direction, I silently headed back out into the corridors to seek out a new place to hide out at until sunrise. I was both thorough and cautious in my searching, which meant that I lingered silently outside several closed doors with my ears strained and my breath locked behind sealed lips while I tried to listen for sounds of civilization. It took me longer than just carelessly peeking inside each room, but it meant that I still had my neck unharmed and head in place as I finally found my surprising new haven.

The room in matter was, like the one by the kitchen, an outcast in comparison to the rest of the area this mansion had to proudly stand for. The decorations on the walls were, rather than fanciful paintings or other ridiculously expensive pieces of art, racks and racks of _countlessly_ many weapons and training tools, either meant for building up strength or to use when ravaging a new, poor town. The floor was more of a _pleasant_ change; instead of being made out of marble or wood, the surface beneath me was padded and surprisingly warm and soft against my bare feet. I knew that the point of the area should've had me running for the door, but instead I found myself drawn to the difference of it all.

The only part about the room that made it impossible to forget which house it belonged to was the wall that was practically made out of beautifully polished glass. Though the sight of the windows was a sign that I was probably very close to the leader's study, I repressed the shiver that wanted to tingle down my spine and started tracing the different tools with a cautious hand while I walked closer to the glass-covered wall. I stopped there and set down the cupcake on the floor before I wrapped my arms around myself for unnecessary protection from the chilly, black night I was gazing out at. For just a moment, I tried to imagine myself standing outside with the cold breeze brushing my face.

It didn't feel inviting at all.

Slowly, I let the light of the lamp make my own reflection grow clear in the glass material so that my focus could shift to the slightly disheveled, honey locks of my hair and the dark brown eyes that were watching me with surprisingly heavy graveness.

"Happy freakin' birthday," I whispered.

The response I got from my reflection was the huff of steam my warm breath created on the window. Before the mist could disappear, I used my finger to draw a little heart in the middle of it. It reminded me of the times when my parents had made snap decisions to head out on the road for weekend-long vacations. The further we'd get away from our house and the desert farther behind it, the easier the weather would turn grey and let brilliant raindrops trickle down the windows of the little, red car they'd rarely used for anything but those occasional road trips. I'd always loved tracing the drops of water with my index finger, enjoying the cool touch of the window, even though the rain was stuck on the outside of it.

I sighed at the memory, and the warm air of my exhale covered my tiny piece of art.

* * *

><p>Dominic found me there a long while later, still staring out at the crack of dawn with my arms embracing my own tired body. It should've been impossible to notice him at first – his breaths were just as silent as his steps, making him blend into the early morning as if he was nothing but air – but as I felt the hair on the back of my neck prickle in odd warning, I knew at once who'd come to intrude my silent moment. I remained as I was, unmoving and unblinking, while the window in front of me slowly conjured a dim reflection of the vampire.<p>

"You know what?" I murmured, admitting that I was aware of his tall form behind me.

"What?" he prompted. His voice was just as deep and beautiful and melodious as always; I quite foolishly wondered if it was part of why I couldn't really hate him.

"It's pretty dumb to have these windows here," I said matter-of-factly.

He made a quiet noise of – what I assumed was – amusement before he answered, "It's not very likely that they'd break."

"Oh. Right. Supernatural senses and all that."

"And all that, yes," he replied with a slight smile audible in his voice.

In response to the tinge of amusement in his tone, I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear to hear it better, though he'd already gone silent. In the reflection of us, I watched as he looked down at my waist, and a second later I heard the quiet rustling of paper as he pulled out the note Maggie had left for me. I waited pensively during the tiny moment he needed to read the written congratulation, but he said nothing while he then put the white page back into the pocket of my – well, _his_ – sweatshirt.

"What, you're not gonna congratulate me?" I questioned quite dryly.

"I could," he answered, "but I'm sure it wouldn't mean anything to you."

I contemplated giving a reply to that, but ended up just asking further questions.

"So what are you doing here then?"

I didn't realize I'd been hoping for him to say '_Oh, I was just making sure you weren't trying to run away again_' until he gave a completely different answer. At least then, I could've given denial another futile chance and pretended that what Cody had said yesterday had been no more than fresh lies.

"I was checking to see if you'd lived through the night," was the real reply I got. "You're not usually gone before dawn."

"I didn't know Anya was out to kill me." It was a poor attempt at a joke and neither of us laughed.

"There are others," Dominic answered instead.

He was right, of course – I knew that even in my sleep deprived state of mind. But earlier, with the memories of the vampires' frightful behaviors still fresh in me and only moonlight guiding me through the night, I'd been fatuous enough to think that _all_ the danger had succumbed, even for just a while. I should've reminded myself that that wasn't the way this world worked.

Still, I felt the urge to point out, "I thought you said I shouldn't worry."

"About Antonio," Dominic said as if he was finishing my sentence, not creating a new one. I kept my gaze steadily focused on the shape of him in the window while his own eyes seemed locked on the early morning outside. His voice was quieter and almost thoughtful as he continued speaking. "There's still Riley. And Sebastian."

The last name didn't ring a bell, but I waved it off. There was one more person I wanted to add to his list, and I knew I was going to regret it once the words were out. I sucked in a deep breath before I managed to say, "And then there's also you."

In the reflection of the glass in front of me, Dominic's dark eyes snapped to mine. Though the dim light made it hard to see even the reddish gleam of his irises, I had no trouble detecting the surprise in his gaze. I turned around to face him completely before I let out the sentence that had been eating me up from the inside.

"After all, _you_'re the only one who's compelled me, right?"

We stared at each other for a long moment, me silently daring him to confess and him simply watching the battle of emotions on my face. I could see his jaw work quietly, clenching and unclenching itself at a repetitive pace. Finally, with a knowing voice, he said, "You're not talking about when you refused to eat."

"No," I answered. I was shocked to hear how composed my voice remained even when I knew that the rest of my face was provoking him into giving me confirmation. "I'm talking about when I tried to run away."

He exhaled in a sigh much heavier than usual and dug his hands into the pockets of his gray sweatpants. I folded my arms across my chest and stared evenly at him; for a moment, I believed I lived up to the image of perfect patience.

But then he said, "You already know the answer to that."

The muscles in my arms tensed in a silent sign of frustration.

"I wanna hear you say it," I demanded, though my voice had yet to gain the same strength as the rest of my body.

He sighed again, but said, "Alright." After a brief pause – during which I kept curling my toes in order to stop my right foot from tapping impatiently against the floor – he uttered the sentence I'd been both fearing and expecting. "I compelled you not to leave."

I'd expected to feel rage or hatred – or both – but instead I could only stand there like a mute and stare at him while his words fully settled in. Hearing the truth in his voice failed to make the situation feel more real than it had two hours ago; his words had only confirmed what I'd already subconsciously been crystal clear of. It was as useless as having him announcing that there was an ongoing thunderstorm when I'd already seen several strikes of lightening.

"Say something."

I didn't notice that I'd been staring at a spot on the wall until the sound of Dominic's voice made my eyes snap back up to meet his. He was watching me with obvious cautiousness – an expression I knew well from the last few days of him walking on eggshells around me.

And for some reason, _this_ was when I finally felt a sting of anger inside of me. Though the timing was a surprise, the vivid emotion – even in such a small portion – was relieving; I wasn't willing to let a bubble of numbness engulf me just yet.

I refused to let the vampire in front of me hear my voice tremble or break, so instead of doing as he'd requested, I settled on serving him a scowl. My brief glare seemed to fail in its purpose to faze him, but it didn't get to stop me as I breezed past him and towards the door he'd left open. I heard a sigh so quiet it could've been interpreted as a simple exhale, but Dominic made no move to stop me while I stalked out of the room and into the slowly lightening hallway outside it. The only assurance I had of his remaining presence was the faint sounds of his footsteps behind me, but I knew that a possible reason for their audibility was that he wanted me to know that it wouldn't be that easy to get away from the subject.

I blocked out the vague sounds anyway and pretended not to have noticed him by slamming the door to his bedroom shut behind me as I entered the familiar space. The loud _bam_ I'd been attempting to create was never heard, so I had to assume that Dominic had caught the frame of the door just in time. Though I couldn't deny that this caused me a slight disappointment, I held on to my feigned act of obliviousness by walking over to the bureau and clumsily dragging out one of the drawers with my clothes. Fumbling with the piece of the furniture, I stumbled over to the king-sized bed and turned the drawer upside-down to let the garments it contained fall into a messy pile on the unmade covers.

"What are you doing?"

Despite my attempts to give Dominic nothing but cold ignorance, his question drew my attention to him. I looked up for a few seconds, watching him where he was leaning against the closed bedroom door with his arms folded loosely across his chest, before I realized my short slip and hurried over to fetch a second drawer. While I dumped more clothes onto my pile, I heard him let out his fourth sigh in the lapse of this morning.

"Are you looking for something?" he then asked as I began picking up shirts and pants and underwear in a haphazard order.

I regarded the blouse I was currently holding, contemplating its quality, and answered, curtly, "I'm packing."

"Packing for what?" Dominic queried.

I threw the blouse back into the pile and started searching for one I'd like better while I replied, "I thought it'd be stupid to have all my clothes here when I won't be staying in this room."

"And where is it you'll be staying then?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "The kitchen, perhaps."

"The kitchen?" he repeated.

"Is that a problem?"

In my peripheral vision, I saw him stretch out of his relaxed pose to step closer to me. I pretended not to bother while I created a second, smaller pile of clothes beside the first one.

"Amber, are you really that—"

"Don't say melodramatic," I warned him.

"I was going for _upset_."

The last word made me glance back at him once more. This time, he was standing no more than two feet away.

"_Upset_?" I succeeded quite well in making the adjective sound ridiculous.

He seemed to take that as a '_yes_' to his question, because he only sat himself down on the free space of the bed and looked at me with an expression I could only count as defeated. I sent him a half-hearted scowl before I began folding the clothes I'd chosen to bring with me to wherever I was heading.

"I doubt it'll make any difference to you," Dominic said after a long moment of silence, "but you should know I didn't want to compel you."

The garment I was holding in that moment had to suffer as my hands tightened around it in response to his words. Through slightly clenched teeth, I answered, "It didn't stop you from doing it anyway."

"It was that or death."

"Well, it was _my_ choice to make, wasn't it?"

"You would've chosen the same."

"You don't know that."

"No, what I _know_ is that you have more respect for life than that."

Though his words frustrated me, I forced my fingers to relax around the fabric of the shirt I was strangling so that I could fold it and put it on top of the rest. After adding the remaining few garments to the pile, I scooped up the pieces of clothing and turned to move in the direction of the door. In an instant, Dominic was up in his feet again and standing right in front of me.

"You really think I'm going to let you sleep on a kitchen _counter_?" he asked through a sigh.

I would've folded my arms across my chest if the pile of clothes hadn't already been occupying the space.

"Better a kitchen counter than this room," I replied quietly.

I stepped past him without getting stopped this time. The only sound accompanying me out the door and down the hallway was yet another one of his sighs – I'd lost count on how many he'd uttered by now – but even that soft noise was soon replaced by my quick breathing. Fear stirred to life in my stomach as I remembered what Dominic had said about it not being safe for me to wander these halls alone, and I hugged the garments closer to my chest while I scurried down the staircase. There was no comfort to receive from the pieces of clothing, though.

My steps slowed down as I neared the door to the kitchen, until they stopped completely as the sound of a cry reached my ears. The pained shout wasn't far away from where I was standing and, though roughly out of place in the morning light, there was such a familiarity in the sound that I felt my previously boiling blood freeze to ice in my veins.

I couldn't move on with this dreadful day without stupidly making sure I'd just imagined the recognition, so I tip-toed in the direction of the second cry. My hands were clutching at my pile of clothes with something other than adrenaline as I edged closer to the two doors I was blindly led to, and my heart began stammering in my chest as I gently pushed my shoulder against the half-closed doors to pensively peek inside.

The first feeling that struck me as I looked around the room was nausea.

It was the room I'd first been brought to, where Dominic had stopped the leader and his disgusting line of followers from killing me right there on the spot. The memory was like a ghost around me, bringing back flashes of the scene and sending uncomfortable chills down my spine.

The second emotion that came to me was surprise as I realized that the room was now only containing two people rather than a crowd of bloodthirsty vampires.

Farther away from me, a woman was half-standing, half-hanging in someone's embrace. She was facing away from me – and thereby allowing me no more than the sight of the straight, dark honey blond hair that was cascading down her painfully arched back – but the way her body shuddered with faintly audible sobs pinpointed her as the source of the cries. One muscular arm was wound around her thin waist, pressing her flush against the barely visible person in front of her, while the other was forcing her head to the side in a way that was making my own neck ache in sympathy. Where the smooth skin of her throat should've been showing, the top of someone else's head was placed.

Disgust became my third feeling as I caught a glimpse of the mouth that was attached to her neck. I couldn't stop myself from gulping loudly.

At the sound of my repulsion, the vampire's attention instantly drifted. The now limp, and silent, woman was given no chance to regain her balance before the man let go of her, and she fell to the floor with a painful thud. A pair of glistening red eyes caught mine, and I heard my breath come out in a shaky gust of air as I watched the familiar face across the room.

_Antonio_.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

In normal cases, I probably would've focused on nothing else but his furious question, but what was catching my interest right in that moment were the streams of gruesome red that were trailing from his mouth and dripping down on the woman that had slumped into a pile on the hard floor. Barely conscious, she turned her head in my direction to send me a pleading look so feeble it was merely a glance. I felt the blood drain from my face as I watched the features I knew had once been much more beautiful than they were now, contorted in pain and fear. The woman's lips were pale and broken – they were nowhere near their usual peachy color – and her skin looked so translucent and pasty that I couldn't even _imagine_ the sunny tone it had once held. The only part of her that hadn't changed in shades was the dark brown irises of the eyes that were fighting to hold mine.

I wasn't aware of my body moving until I felt the cold touch of the marble floor against my knees. The woman only stared at me as I threw my pile of clothes away from me and pulled her limp upper body onto my lap, but I could see the recognition sparkle in her gaze. My trembling fingers tenderly pushed the long strands of hair away from her bruised face.

"Amber?" the woman breathed so quietly that I had to strain my ears in order to hear her. The tone of her voice admitted both incredulousness and relief.

My vision was growing blurry; it took me a second to realize that I was crying.

"I'm here," I whispered, my voice broken even in its quiet state. "Mum, I'm right here."

Her lips pulled up into a fainted echo of her familiar smile. I rested my forehead against hers while a tear slid down my cheek before it melted into the ivory toned skin of my mother's face. As she spoke again, I could feel her tepid breath brush by my nose and lips. Her words made my skin sting.

"Happy birthday, Honey."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Finally! <em>I've been waiting to get to this part of the story for so long now! **

**Besides, as usual, asking for reviews (does that count as me asking?), I just wanted to answer 'Alkie58', who left a review for chapter 11:  
>'<strong>Haha, no, the world this story takes place in is not the same as Mandydoll's (I wish, though!). You'll have to ask _her_ for the details of her story's world, but I can just say that the world in 'All that's left is hope' is more of a futuristic and slightly different (as if the whole vampire-issue isn't making _that _clear) version of the one we live in. I also feel like the vampires in her story have more of a purpose for their actions, while the ones here are basically just so power mad they've started acting irrationally.  
>I don't know if this ramble was more than you were looking for, but there you go! ;)'<p>

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed - you're making me smile goofily whenever I log in here. :)  
>Until next time (which I hope will be before the end of the year)!<strong>


	13. Author's note!

**Yes, I am still alive.**

**No, I do not have a whole chapter written yet. **

**I'm sorry!**

****I don't want to come with lame excuses, but honestly, school's been kicking my ass lately and mostly, I wind up getting inspiration for my writing when I'm busy solving equations or studying different constituencies - which basically means that I only want to write when I really can't.

I _do_ have quite a lot written, though, so during the break I have in about a week, I'm going to type until I have something worth publishing.

That's a promise :)


	14. Chapter 13

**Another author's- No, I'm kidding. **

**Honestly, I am about 99% sure I'm gonna regret uploading this when I wake up tomorrow, but since my mind doesn't seem to function very normally now that it's past 1am, I'm just gonna go ahead and post this. So, yeah, I hope you like it anyways - that is, if you still remember this story exists...**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER THIRTEEN<strong>

_Sorrow weighs my shoulders down,_  
><em>and trouble haunts my mind.<em>  
><em>But I know the present will not last,<em>  
><em>and tomorrow will be kinder.<em>

_(The Secret Sisters)_

_Happy birthday, Honey_.

The three words, spoken in my mother's quiet and strained voice, managed to pop the bubble of relief that had been engulfing me. I could feel a second teardrop slither down my cheek, but this time I lifted my hand to wipe it away while I slowly leaned back to look at the person I'd just been cradling in my arms.

She couldn't be real.

Her eyes had closed, leaving her blind to how I quickly slinked away from her. I could feel my hands tremble with an emotion I couldn't quite read; I curled them into fists while I scrambled to my feet with clumsy moves. Once standing, I looked back down at the pale, but painfully familiar face of the woman on the floor.

She _couldn't_ be real.

I remained still until the thought had convinced me enough. Then, with my heart sinking with this new belief, I took a few quick steps back, though only to ram right into something solid.

My heart dropped even lower.

"Leaving so soon?" a cold voice asked right behind me.

Antonio.

I'd been stupid to forget about him for even a second. Even though the anger I'd heard in his voice before was gone, I could feel it in his hand as he grabbed my right upper arm to keep me from flinching away. His grip was too tight; the blood flow in my arm nearly stopped in response. The pain of it was almost as strong as the fear that instantly bubbled up in me.

"Now, that's the second question you haven't answered," the monster behind me said, his tone cold but verging on irritated. "You might not want to make it a third."

The obvious threat sent a small shiver down my spine, but I kept my lips sealed. Antonio tolerated my silence for no more than a few seconds before he used his grip on my arm to spin me around and face him. Due to the fact that he was taller than me, my eyes were leveled with the blood that was still smeared across his lips and chin. The lump of nausea that crawled up my throat in response forced me to meet his flaming gaze instead, though it was no more of a preferable sight.

"No need to look so scared," he said, instantly picking up on the fear that was bound to be showing in my eyes. I held my breath as he smirked and leaned in slightly to add, "I'm not supposed to hurt you, remember?"

His insincere tone and malevolent smile made my body do the reverse of relaxing, but just as his smirk widened in response to my stiffening shoulders, an unfamiliar voice came floating into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt."

Antonio was blocking my view of the stranger, so I only continued staring up at the vampire in front of me as he turned his head to reply, "What is it, Sebastian?"

A small part of my mind vaguely realized that it was the name Dominic had mentioned earlier. I felt an additional thrill of fear in me. _One_ vampire was enough to stand against; with two in the same room, I'd be dead in a flash.

"Riley wants to speak with you," the other vampire – Sebastian – said, surprising me slightly.

"Well, as you can see, I'm in the middle of something," Antonio replied, his voice undeniably ruder.

I was certain the second vampire would take that as enough of an answer and slink back out of the room, so when I heard him speak again, I couldn't stop myself from perking up just slightly.

"He said it was urgent. You know better than to ignore him, don't you?"

Antonio let out a sound that was definitively close to a growl. As his red eyes trailed back to me, I cringed back as much as his grip would allow – which, frankly, was no more than an inch or two.

"Fine. But just so we're clear," he said, his voice lower but nonetheless threatening. I tried to shrink away further as I realized it was _me_ he was now talking to. Without bothering to tug me back, he added, "Don't try to hide my human from me. I'll be back for her."

'_My_ human'.

He might as well have punched me in the stomach; I felt just as awful inside as if he had.

Clearly seeing the effect his words had had on me, Antonio smirked once again before he let go of my arm and turned to stride out of the room. My eyes followed him as he, on his way out, picked up one of the shirts I'd thrown to the floor earlier and used it to wipe the blood off his face. I didn't bother caring about it.

The instant he was out of sight, I let my gaze drift to the stranger that had stopped Antonio from whatever he had planned. He seemed almost familiar where he was standing in the doorway, shifting his weight uncomfortably, but I couldn't be certain if it was because of his dark eyes and tousled, light brown hair or the half-frightened expression that was masking his chiseled face. To my surprise, I could feel the fear in me slowly still while I stared at him just as quietly as he was watching me.

Finally, the silence in the room was broken by my mother's familiar voice.

"Amber?" I heard her mumble.

My gaze held Sebastian's for another second before I looked back down at the woman on the floor. She hadn't opened her eyes again, but the way her eyebrows were lowering into a slight frown showed that she wasn't entirely unconscious. The denial was still strong in me, but I slowly sank back down beside her and placed my hand over her cold one. Her eyelids fluttered a little in response, but she didn't say anything else.

I glanced up in the direction of the doorway, which was now empty. Without thinking too much about it, I looked back down at the woman beside me. A tiny, insistent part of my mind was determined to convince me that it really was my mother, but even while holding her hand, it felt as if she was bound to disappear any second now.

Quite stupidly, I whispered, "Are you real?"

Vaguely, I realized that it was the same question I'd asked Cody when I'd first met him. This time, however, I didn't get an answer.

"Mum?" I asked, using my free hand to shake her gently. "Mum, stay awake."

I could feel panic crawl slowly into my system as she remained unresponsive. Frowning, I looked around in search for something to stop her bleeding with. All I could find within my reach was one of the garments I'd been carrying out of Dominic's room, so I grabbed it and used it as a compression for the wound on her neck. Something wet and icky – her blood, I realized – touched my wrist, but I tried to ignore the nausea that bubbled up in response while I waited for a reaction from my mum. She only winced mildly.

The doubt I'd been feeling had disappeared by now, and was being replaced by a stinging guilt. I leaned closer, just like I had before I'd been reminded of Antonio's presence, and let my forehead rest against hers. Again, I closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>I don't know for how long I sat there, but somewhere during the counting of my mother's weak breaths, I must've drifted into unconsciousness, because when I finally opened my eyes again, the room around me was darker.<p>

I was comfortable – far too comfortable to be sitting on the floor – but in my tiny moment of contentment, I paid that detail no heed. Instead, I yawned softly and rolled over onto my back.

And that was when it hit me.

With a jolt of panic surging through me, I flew up into a sitting position. My eyes flitted around, taking in the soft violet and dark purple tones of the room and the bed I was perched on, until they finally landed on the person lying beside me. A stream of dim sunlight was stretched across her face, showing her pale skin and closed eyes. As my gaze lowered to her neck, where I knew her wound was, I could only find what looked like a white cotton pad. I stretched my fingers out to touch the soft material of it, but stopped myself as I spotted something dark on my wrist. Frowning, I held my arm up in front of me.

Smeared out in a line across my wrist was blood. My mother's blood.

Disgusted, I let my arm fall back down to the covers of the large bed just as I heard the sound of an opening door. I glanced up in time to see Anya step inside with a pile of clothes – clothes I could quite quickly identify as my own – in her arms.

"Anya?"

Clearly taken off guard, she pulled to a stop in response to the sound of my voice. Her eyes – it was a little too dark for me to see if they'd lost their reddish gleam yet – met mine.

"Oh," she murmured. "You're awake."

"And confused," I replied quietly. My voice sounded hoarse and odd, but I doubted clearing my throat would do it any good. "Where am I?"

"Well," Anya said just as silently while she stepped further inside and closed the door behind her with a soft kick of her foot. "This is my room. I figured I'd step in when Dominic mentioned something about how you'd rather sleep in the kitchen than in his room."

"Dominic was here?" I asked, ignoring the comment and the way her tone changed.

"Who did you think found you?"

I frowned a little. He'd helped me out of there?

"I don't remember," I admitted.

"You were pretty out of it," Anya said softly.

I watched her, still frowning, while she gracefully sank down on the plush carpet that was partly covering the floor and put the pile of my clothes beside her. Her fingers moved nimbly as she picked up one of the garments and folded it swiftly. As she moved on to the next piece of clothing, I glanced back down at my mother's now peaceful face. I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or if there was actually a slight color on her cheeks.

"Your mother will be just fine," I heard Anya say. As I looked back at her, she was smiling softly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, instead of questioning how she knew it was my mum.

"Positive," she assured me.

For the second time since I'd found my mum, I let myself feel relief. I felt my lips tug upwards a little while I watched her peaceful face, but the slight smile was quick to falter as Anya spoke again.

"There's one thing you should know, however," she murmured.

My eyes flitted back to her to find that she'd put down the pair of jeans she'd been holding and was instead watching me with a graver look on her face than before. I felt my frown deepen.

"That's an ominous expression you've got going on," I said slowly.

She bit her lip for a moment. Finally, she got to her feet and walked over to sit beside me. I tensed up slightly while I felt a mild worry settle in the pit of my stomach.

"Thomas was here earlier," Anya said.

I watched her cautiously while she stared back with a nearly identical expression.

"He was taking care of your mother's neck," she continued, quietly. "And, he mentioned… He knew her, Amber."

My eyebrows lowered even further, but this time it was out of pure confusion. "What?" I asked.

"He's known her for over three years now," Anya said softly.

I felt my face slowly change as her words sank in. Quietly, I asked, "My mother… She's been here all along, hasn't she?"

Anya wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into a slight hug; I neither objected nor responded. Instead, I only sat there, silently, while I replayed a part of my first conversation with Thomas.

'_There's this woman they keep here. She's barely lucid, but that little part of her brain that still functions normally is telling her not to give up. I've never seen anyone fight so hard for survival when it's practically out of reach_.'

'_Why is she fighting_?' I remembered asking.

'_She's fighting for a chance to see her daughter again_.'

In the present, I turned my head to look at my mother again, but instantly regretted it as the sight of her pale face made me realize what she'd been through the past few years. I felt sick with guilt.

"Oh God," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," Anya murmured. "I thought you should know, before she wakes up."

I looked down at my lap while Anya tightened her arm slightly around me. My eyes were stinging with fresh tears, but I held them back.

After a long moment of silence, Anya finally broke it by asking, "How do you feel?"

Frowning again, I quietly replied, "How do _I_ feel? I'm not the one who's been stuck here with that _monster_ for three years now."

She didn't even flinch in response, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was used to the term or because we shared opinions of Antonio. Either way, she only replied, "That doesn't mean you can't be upset."

"I just have to…" I trailed off, lacking an excuse to get out of this room before the air inside it could choke me. My gaze focused on my wrist again, and I realized that there was still dried blood on my skin. "I have to go clean this off."

Anya held me for a few seconds before she, without objecting or questioning me, let her arm drop the covers of her bed. I felt her eyes on me as I stumbled my way over to the door, but she didn't speak up again until I lay my hand on the doorknob.

"Amber?" she asked softly.

I half-turned to look at her in a silent inquiry.

"Happy birthday."

I didn't tell her how bizarre those words were after this day or how it was the last thing I wanted to hear in that moment.

I only smiled tightly and ducked out the door, heading for whatever tiny piece of freedom I had.

* * *

><p>I was back where I'd been just hours ago, sitting on the padded floor of my new haven and staring out at the reddish sky outside the tall windows.<p>

My knees were drawn up to my chin, giving my head a place to rest as I watched the sunset with sore eyes, and my arms were wrapped securely around my legs. I could feel the stiffness in my back that declared I'd been sitting there for a long time, but I felt better pretending I was back in the same situation as I'd been in the last time I'd been sitting there than getting up and facing my new reality.

I knew I should've been happy that my mother was alive – any sane person would've been. But my mind was replaying the scene of Antonio feeding from her, making it impossible to see anything but the fact that, instead of being given a chance to leave this cruel world behind, my mum had been forced to endure a fate worse than mine.

It wasn't fair. None of it was fair.

Sighing, I pressed my left cheek against my knees and closed my eyes, hoping for a moment of peace.

Unsurprisingly, that moment was ruined quite quickly by Dominic's familiar voice.

"We should stop meeting like this."

Without acknowledging his words, I opened my eyes again to look back out at the disappearing sun. In my peripheral vision, I saw him sit down beside me. The anger that had driven me out of his room earlier was nothing but a weak stir in the pit of my stomach while I stared ahead of me.

Silence stretched between us for a long moment until I couldn't take it. With a soft sigh, I asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," Dominic replied. "Is this really how you're going to spend your birthday?"

I stared out the window for a long moment before I sighed again and said, "I should be happy, shouldn't I?"

He didn't answer. As I glanced over at him, I saw that he was watching the beautiful sky outside.

"But I feel…guilty," I continued, my voice lowering. "I mean, my mother's been here all along." I paused to look back at the sunset. "And I've been complaining about how _I_'ve been living…"

"There was no way you could've known," Dominic said softly.

We sat in silence for a brief moment before I focused my gaze on him again. "Did _you_ know?" I asked hesitantly.

His eyes snapped to my mine at once, but he didn't say anything for several seconds. Finally, he replied, "Did you ask Anya that as well?"

I bit my lip, holding back a 'sorry', and glanced away from his dark gaze.

Again, the room turned quiet while I stared out the window and Dominic watched me. When I, once again, couldn't take the silence, I mumbled, "He'll be back for her, you know. Antonio."

"I know," Dominic said. "That's why I went by Anya's room to get your clothes."

For some reason, I wasn't surprised. "Why would you do that?" I only sighed while I looked back at him.

"Well, to quote you," he replied. "I thought it'd be stupid to have your clothes there when you won't be staying in that room."

I felt a slight urge to roll my eyes. "And why exactly am I not staying with Anya?"

"You said it yourself. Antonio will be back."

"He'll be back whether I stay with Anya or not."

"Yes, but if you're with Anya, it's going to be a lot harder for me to make sure he doesn't get what he wants."

I watched him carefully for a moment, waiting for his face to change. As he remained completely serious, I frowned slightly and said, "Let's say I do stay in your room then. What will happen to my mum? I'm not leaving her."

"She'll be there, too, of course."

"Is this a slumber party?"

He shot me a look before he said, "I'll sleep on the floor."

"On the floor? You'll sleep on the floor?" As he didn't reply, I asked, bewildered, "Why?"

He looked back out at the sunset for a moment before he met my gaze again and answered, "Consider it an apology."

We stared at each other for a few seconds before he got to his feet in a swift move. I only watched him as he reached out a hand in my direction.

"Come on," he said. "You should be there when your mother wakes up."

Begrudgingly, I admitted that he was right. Without accepting his help, however, I clumsily got up from the floor as well. I saw him shake his head just slightly before he turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait," I blurted out.

He stopped to turn and look at me.

"Even though, if you were human, you'd probably get a crick in the neck from sleeping on the floor… I just want you to know that I'm still mad at you."

He watched me for a long moment before he sighed, "Wouldn't want it any other way."

I stared after him as he spun on his heels again and headed for the door. In the doorway, he stopped again to send me a prompting look.

With a tiny sigh of my own, I followed.

* * *

><p><strong>I think I deserve an A for crappy endings. Oh well... <strong>


	15. Chapter 14

**I hope you've all had a great Christmas! Here's a freshly made chapter for you, whether it was on your wish list or not ;) **

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FOURTEEN<strong>

_I see problems down the line._  
><em>I know that I am right.<em>

_(Jose Gonzalez)_

The following days passed in an almost repetitive pattern.

Each morning became a fresh reminder of the fact that my mother was alive. It didn't matter how many times I opened my eyes to find her still asleep beside me; for several seconds, I could never shake the feeling that the moment was nothing but the last few glimpses of a dream, and that she would vanish into thin air once a stream of sunlight fell on her. But, every day, she remained solid on the pillow next to mine – and I was left till next morning to go through it all again.

The nights weren't easier, though I refused to openly admit it. In spite of how Dominic kept his promise by sleeping on the floor – though, to be honest, the mattress he'd found was probably nearly as comfortable as the bed – there was a lingering tension in the room, and it only grew worse once the lights were out. My mother had always possessed the ability to fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, so while she quickly drifted off, I was often left to stare up at the ceiling for long moments while waiting for sleep to collect me as well. Almost every night, I found myself eventually sneaking several glances in the direction of the vampire across the room. Most of the times he managed to catch my gaze even in the darkness of the night, but I always looked away before he could break the lasting silence between us. It was usually after that that I pretended to fall asleep and, even though I knew Dominic could easily see through my horrible acting, he remained quiet as well.

I was certain it would've remained that way during the days as well, had my mother not found it in her to drag him into most of our conversations. I found myself lapsing into silence quite quickly, but rather than it being caused by my lingering anger for Dominic, it was the persistent worry that seemed to be hovering over my head like a dark cloud that made me go quiet. Even with Dominic constantly around, giving me a sense of security that I wasn't ready to fully admit to, I couldn't shake the feeling that Antonio was lurking just around the corner, waiting for the right moment to prove that he'd been honest when he'd promised to return.

It was nerve-wracking, really.

Despite this, however, there were moments each day – both good and bad – that managed to bring me out of my daze of worry. The one that stuck to me the most, though, was when – on the second morning – my mum insisted she didn't need any bandage. I tried my best to keep a neutral expression on my face as her healed wound was revealed, but as I glanced at Dominic and found him watching me with dark and knowing eyes, I knew I must've failed to hide how awful it felt to see the many, many scars that already existed on my mother's neck. When my eyes flitted back to my mum's, she seemed to notice as well, because she wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer to her. As I rested my head against her shoulder and listened to her change the subject, I felt a heavy lump of guilt in the pit of my stomach.

_I _wasn't the one who should be comforted.

My mother seemed to disagree with this, however. When she noticed me glancing around anxiously, looking for signs of Antonio, she didn't hesitate in trying to soothe me, even though I was certain she had to be even more frightened of the return of her tormentor. If she woke up before me in the mornings, she was still beside me when I came around as well, as if she was aware of the doubt I experienced during the first few seconds of every day.

In other words, she was pushing away all her own worries and taking care of mine instead.

So, when I woke up one morning and found the space beside me empty, I was surprised, to say the least.

For a long, dreadful moment, I was sure that this was when the dream about my mother being alive really did end. I felt my tired eyes smart with tears, but the painful feeling slowly ceased as my gaze landed on the thick mattress across the room – which, just like the other half of the bed, was empty and unmade. With a frown, I sharpened my ears and listened for any sounds of civilization.

There was only silence.

The worry that had been hovering over me for the past few days slowly inched closer until my stomach was churning with it. My head was heavy with sleep as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, but I forced myself to look aside it as I padded across the room. Pensively, I opened the door to the bathroom and peeked inside. After quickly confirming that it was as abandoned as the bedroom, I headed out into the chilly hallway. My arms instinctively wrapped around myself in an attempt to preserve some warmth while I cautiously made my way downstairs. As I reached the kitchen, my eyes deliberately steering clear of the path to the room where I'd found my mother, I pulled to a stop to listen for movements. Within a few seconds, I heard unfamiliar laughter, soon accompanied by my mother's warm one.

Still hesitant, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

My eyes groggily roamed the room for a second before they landed on the only vampire in the room, who was leaning casually against the kitchen island countertop. His dark hair was a little more tousled than usual and there was the subtle hint of stubble along the angular line of his jaw; the roughness somehow contrasted perfectly with the genuine smile that was tugging on his lips. The instant his black eyes flitted to mine, his grin slowly died for a brief moment before it lit up again. I stared back at him with a dumbfounded expression on my face, so taken aback that I didn't hear the approaching footsteps beside me until I felt a pair of familiar arms envelop me in a hug.

"There you are, Honey," I heard my mother say warmly, her voice close to my ear.

Glancing away from Dominic and his – I had to admit – beautiful smile, I mumbled, "There _you_ are."

My mum eased her embrace slightly and planted a kiss on my cheek before she dashed away, heading back to the cooking I hadn't realized was going on. I rubbed my sleepy eyes, waiting for my mind to wake up so that the moment would make more sense. The only thing that changed was that the silence in the room was broken by my mother's soft humming. The sound of it was enough to make me forget about my newest grudge against Dominic, so while keeping my wary eyes on my mother, I crossed the distance between me and the vampire and pulled up beside him. After one last look at my quietly singing mum, I turned to him in a sharp move, ready to demand an answer as to what was going on. I stopped short as I realized that there was still an amused smile on his lips.

"What?" I asked a little uncertainly, speaking to him directly for the first time in days.

"Nothing," he said, though clearly that wasn't true. I offered him my most doubtful look, to which he responded by shooting a meaningful glance in the direction of my humming mother and adding, "I've just heard some…interesting stories about you."

My eyes drifted to my mum and then back to him before his words fully settled. I felt a slight urge to bang my head down against the counter beside me to rid my mind of the thoughts of which embarrassing stories my mother could've told him, but instead I only groaned a quiet, "No."

Dominic's smile widened a little, making his almost black eyes look slightly less supernatural. I glanced away from him while I folded my arms tightly across my chest, bristling. Once I'd managed to discard the quite sour expression on my face, I cast him a quick look and asked, "What have I missed?"

Clearly seeing through my attempt at changing the subject – and obviously not feeling benignant enough to go along with it – Dominic answered, "Oh, you missed some great stories. There was the one about—"

You know that's not what I meant!" I cut him off in a quiet hiss, very aware of the fact that my mother was just across the kitchen and that she'd notice if my voice grew louder.

For another lingering moment, Dominic watched me with amusement written on his face. His smile was still playing around the corners of his lips.

"Why is she here?" I asked, trying once more to steer the conversation away from my childhood stories.

Thankfully, he didn't object this time.

"I heard her get up about half an hour ago," he finally answered, losing his humor quite fully. I refused to admit that I missed the smile a little. "She said she wanted to make breakfast."

My eyes flitted to my mum, who was still humming while poking around in a frying pan. The sight reminded me of sunny mornings in the small kitchen of my old home.

After a beat too long, I looked back at Dominic and said, accusingly, "You should've woken me up."

"You were snoring away," he replied.

My eyes narrowed a little. "I don't snore."

His smile was back, but a clinkering sound stopped him from answering. My gaze snapped to the source of the noise, which turned out to be two plates of steaming pancakes. My eyebrows rose in surprise while my eyes drifted up to my mother, who was on her way back with her hands full of another pair of plates.

"How many did she say she was making breakfast for?" I asked quietly, making sure my voice was audible for supernatural ears only.

As I glanced up at Dominic, expecting an answer, he was still just smiling.

"Amber," my mother said, bringing my attention back to her. She was just setting down the two plates she'd been holding. "Would you go fetch your dad?"

And just like that, the whole atmosphere in the room changed drastically. I felt my sleepy mind snap to alertness just as Dominic's smile quickly faded until his lips were set in a straight, worried line. The room was completely silent as I stared at my mother, my incredulous eyes locked on her patient ones.

Images of my father's lifeless face were flashing across my mind, but I forced myself to quietly repeat, "Go fetch Dad?"

We regarded each other for a long moment before I saw the peaceful light in her eyes slowly dim. Her eyebrows knitted together in a frown while her gaze dropped to the spare plate she'd set down. As her eyes met mine again, the happiness I'd seen in them just seconds ago was gone. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then she closed it just as quickly and looked back down at her own plate. I watched her as she quietly grabbed her fork and started poking around in her pancakes.

A cool touch on my elbow made me snap back to life. Without meeting the dark gaze I could feel on me, I reached out to grab my mother's free hand. Although she didn't look up, I gave her hand a squeeze and murmured, "It's okay."

It wasn't, though.

In the beginning, I'd been waiting for a moment like this to come – after all, what else was there to expect when Thomas' exact words had been '_she's barely lucid_'? But during the past few days, she hadn't showed signs of anything but calmness and normalcy, which in the end had led me to believe that maybe it hadn't been true – that, perhaps, she'd be just fine.

I squeezed her hand once more before I let go of it to grab the extra plate instead. The struggle to remain calm made my throat feel clogged, but I tried to ignore it while I let the spare pancakes fall onto my own plate. Without looking up again, I then started jabbing my pancakes rather than eating them. Eventually they were just scrambled bits and pieces, but by then my mother had given up on her own breakfast and was heading back to the sink with her plate.

"It's probably nothing."

The soft words made me glance up at Dominic. The crease between his dark eyebrows as he frowned after my mother made the sentence even less believable. I didn't bother answering him before I pushed myself away from the counter and hurried after my mum, who'd silently started heading for the door. As I caught up with her, she didn't wrap an arm around my shoulders like I'd grown used to her doing. She just kept walking.

As we reached the bedroom, my mother only turned her head to send me a soft smile – it didn't reach her eyes at all – before she locked herself into the bathroom. Shortly after the door had clicked shut, there was the dimmed sound of running water. I sighed quietly before I turned around to face the person I knew had silently followed us back to the room.

As expected, Dominic was standing a few feet away with his arms folded loosely across his chest. There was a certain look on his face that told me he already knew what was coming, but I didn't let it take me off guard as I heaved another sigh and simply said, "She can't stay here."

I hadn't expected him to become shocked – mainly because this couldn't have come as _that_ much of a surprise, but also because I couldn't recall ever seeing him truly surprised – but neither had I anticipated him to remain silent as he watched me. Though his quietness frustrated me mildly, I forced myself to mirror his composure as I continued.

"It's only a matter of time before An—" I cut myself off briefly before I added, "Before that monster comes back for her."

"He won't get her," Dominic replied, sounding sure.

The calm in his voice irked me and, though it wasn't him I doubted, I answered, "I can't trust that."

He didn't respond this time. I stared at him for a moment before I glanced away from his nearly onyx eyes.

"Besides," I said after a moment of looking out the window, where tiny flakes of white were trailing down beautifully, "you saw what happened just now. What if you're not there the next time it happens? What if she wanders off somewhere and…" I couldn't bear to finish the thought, so I let my voice trail off.

"And what if it never happens again?"

My eyes snapped back to him.

"Did you _see_ her reaction?" I hissed quietly. "I don't want to have to risk seeing her like that again."

Dominic watched me for a long moment while I struggled to regain my own calmness. Finally, he said, "I thought you were happy to have her back."

It was then that I realized that, this time, he really didn't have a clue of what was going on in my mind. While I felt the intensity in me die, I slowly crossed the room to stand in front of him. His dark eyes followed my moves.

"I'm not gonna let her go alone," I said, softer this time.

There was a slight change in his expression, but I couldn't read the emotions that flickered to life. There was only the faintest of an edge to his calm tone as he replied, "You want to leave."

"I can't let her go alone," I answered.

His eyes searched mine for a moment, as if he was looking for another response in them, before he surprised me by giving an acknowledging nod.

"Alright," he said. My eyebrows rose in response, but they were quick to dip back down into a frown as he then added, "On one condition."

The words were ominous, but I did my best to conceal my worry. There was still a slight bite in my tone as I asked, "What condition?"

"Well, there's going to be a dinner in a few days," he answered. His next words were an odd mixture of a question and a command. "Accompany me to it."

I held on to my scowl for another moment, waiting for him to wave it off as a strange joke and then tell me the real condition. He only watched me back silently, so eventually I let out a quiet chuckle of disbelief and asked, "What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"Riley believes that bringing you will prove a point," Dominic said. I raised an inquiring eyebrow, which prompted him to add, "He wants to show that they don't have to treat humans the way they do."

I didn't miss his choice of words, though something in his voice told me he'd hoped for me to.

"'_They_'?" I questioned.

He hesitated, but then almost reluctantly said, "There are people from Europe coming."

I felt an uneasiness settle in me as I forced out a strained, "As in the vampires with their own humans?"

His silence was enough of an answer.

"No," I said, determinedly. "No way."

To my surprise, Dominic didn't seem much swayed by my definite attitude.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," he murmured.

"Of course I'd say that! You really expect me to _willingly_ meet those vampires?"

Dominic sighed quietly before he surprised me by leaning closer. I tensed, but fought the urge to back away.

"If you want to leave," he said, lowering his voice noticeably, "that night will be the perfect opportunity. Almost everyone will be there. If you were to come with and then leave before the night is over, the house will be nearly empty. You'll get out with no trouble."

I considered his words for a moment before I replied, "If that's true, wouldn't it just be easier if I stayed behind?"

"I told you Riley wants to prove a point."

I folded my arms across my chest, defiant now. "I'm sure he can find someone else to help him _prove this point_."

"You're wrong."

My eyes narrowed just a little.

"Because," Dominic continued, "first of all, you don't have bite marks." I didn't see him move his hand until I felt a cold touch on my neck. Though my instincts shouted at me to flinch away, I stood completely still, suspecting that he was testing me. "And secondly, this doesn't send you off screaming."

As I realized that he was referring to his cool fingers against my neck, I scowled and leaned away enough for his hand to leave my skin. He let his arm fall back to his side, but it wasn't a sign of defeat; he knew as well as I did that he'd made me realize that he was right about at least that part.

"Let's say I _do_ go with you then," I said, a little sourly. "Where will my mother be?"

"She'll be waiting for you here," he replied calmly.

"Alone?"

"No vampires will be here," he said. "She'll be alright."

I wasn't fond of that part of the plan, but I forced myself to continue.

"And what will I have to do?" I asked. "Enter the room, smile politely and then leave?"

He ignored the sarcasm in my voice. "We'll go there, stay for a couple of hours and then you'll head back before the rest of us."

"_A couple of hours_?"

His only reply to that was a look I couldn't quite read.

I bit back another objection to give the plan at least a moment's thought. Just the thought of entering a room full of vampires – vampires I found even crueler than most here – made me feel queasy, but if I were to be honest with myself, I knew that it was the perfect opportunity for my mother to get out of here. I would either have to stick to patience – though I doubted I had much – and wait for another chance, or I could make it through the night and thereby ensure my mother a safe escape.

I urged myself to be less selfish; it made the decision easy.

"Fine," I said, quietly. "I'll go."

Dominic just nodded in the same acknowledging manner as before. After a last moment of hesitation, I stuck out my hand in front of me, intending for us to shake on it. Dominic's fingers were cold as they met mine, so I shook his hand quickly. Before I could break the contact, his grip suddenly tightened and I felt him pull me closer.

My mouth opened to protest, but his eyes caught mine before I could voice my objection. I felt an odd but vaguely familiar sensation wrap itself around me like a blanket as I stared up at him, lost in his gaze. At such a close distance, I could see that the color of his eyes was still a dark, dark ruby. I felt like I was drowning in them.

"I take back what I said," he murmured, his voice deep and soft. "You're free to leave the house as you wish."

There was no difference in the distance between us, but I was suddenly blinking my way out of the daze Dominic had pulled me into. I felt my eyebrows pull together as I tried to collect my thoughts. Before I could speak, I heard a low hemming.

My eyes flitted to the source of the sound, and I found my mother standing in the doorway to the bathroom, facing us. She was dressed in the same clothes as before she'd locked herself into the room, but her hair was wet from a shower and the expression on her face had changed. One of her eyebrows had lifted to break her frown, and where sadness had been prominent before was now a pure look of suspicion and consideration. It took me a moment to realize that the reason for it was that I was still standing uncomfortably close to Dominic.

Quickly, I pulled my hand out of Dominic's grip and took two steps back. My mother's expression remained the same, but she didn't make a single remark. After a few seconds of silence – during which I kept wondering if it was as awkward for them as it was for me – Dominic finally spoke again.

"I should go talk to Riley," he said, before he quietly stepped back and ducked out the door. Rather than staying behind and facing whatever assumptions my mother had just made, I hurried after him.

He'd already stopped a few steps away; of course he'd known I'd follow him.

"What did you do?" I asked. My voice didn't sound as demanding as I'd hoped.

He turned around to face me. The expression on his face revealed that he knew exactly what I was referring to.

"When I compelled you," he said quietly while he crossed part of the distance between us, "I took away your will to leave. I guess you could say I just gave it back to you."

I folded my arms across my chest again, but this time it wasn't as a sign of defiance.

"Then why don't I feel different?" I asked. I'd expected at least _some_ sort of change in me.

Dominic shook his head a little. "It doesn't work that way, Amber."

I stared up at him, genuinely confused.

"I didn't remove a _part_ of you," he continued. "I changed what you were feeling…_then_."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you saying I don't want to leave anymore?"

"Do you?"

I waited for the annoying, manipulated part of me to respond with a 'no', but no automatic reply burst out of me. I felt my face soften with this realization, but before I could answer Dominic's question, he spoke again.

"See," he said. "You do feel different."

With that, he turned back around and started off in the direction he'd been headed in before I'd stopped him. I stared after him, lost in the thought that I was no longer bound to this house. I knew Dominic could sense my gaze, but he didn't even send me a glance over his shoulder. Once he was out of sight, I finally tore my eyes away and turned to go back inside the room.

My mother was standing exactly where I'd left her. I felt a stir of restless energy – or perhaps it was adrenaline – in me as I opened my mouth to tell her my new plan, but she spoke before I could.

"Amber, what was that?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes before I said, "Nothing."

"I know—"

"Mum."

She stopped whatever she'd been about to say and settled on just watching me. Despite the lingering look of suspicion on her face, I felt a smile tug at my lips. I let it spread before I spoke again.

"We're getting out of here."

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><p><strong>For once, I'm thinking I might actually find the inspiration and time to update quickly, but if I don't see you until 2013, then happy new year! <strong>

**Oh, and you know what would be awesome? Reaching 100 reviews before the next update! :)**


	16. Chapter 15

**I thought I'd start 2013 by thanking everyone for reading and reviewing so far! You guys are awesome :)**

**And, though I'm exhausted after a long first day back at school (Christmas break, why did you have to end...), I thought I'd celebrate reaching a hundred reviews by updating rather quickly. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FIFTEEN<strong>

_Take a deep breath, no more time left._  
><em>This is what I thought I wanted.<em>  
><em>Why am I afraid?<em>

_(Tyrone Wells)_

"Rise and shine!"

I failed to stifle a groan as a bright voice pierced through my sleep. Somewhere farther away, I heard a similar sound echo mine.

"Come on," the same voice chimed. "You're sleeping the day away."

I felt a tug on the covers, so I grabbed them tightly and yanked them up to hide all of me. A few seconds later, the warm comforter was ripped from my grip, and I groaned again as chilly air swept over me, raising goose-bumps on my arms and legs. Inwardly, I cursed myself for not sleeping with two extra layers of clothing.

"Go away, Anya," I muttered to the intruder of my sleep.

"Not likely," she answered.

I cracked open one eye to peer up at her. She smiled as she noticed.

"Why are you torturing me?" I grumbled.

"It's called getting up before noon, not _torture_," she replied.

"Noon? It's only…" I trailed off to glance at the clock, expecting it to show 06.00 – which happened to be approximately the same time I'd finally managed to fall asleep. Instead, the numbers 11.23 shone brightly back at me. "Oh."

"Exactly," Anya said. "So it's time to get up, get dressed and get ready to go."

The sudden pull of dread in me startled me enough to send my sleepiness down the drain. Slowly, I propped myself up on my elbows and asked, "Go? But the dinner isn't until tonight."

Anya only rolled her red eyes, seemingly oblivious to the tone of my voice. "There are a lot of things to do," she said, her voice milder than her initial reaction. "You haven't even tried a dress yet."

"I didn't know there _was_ a dress," I replied.

"You think I'd let you go in sweats?"

I glanced down at my legs, which were clad in mentioned clothing. As I looked up again, Anya was stretching out a hand for me to grab. Reluctantly – and with a heavy sigh – I let her pull me up from the warm bed. As soon as I was standing, she planted her hands on my back and ushered me across the room and in the direction of the bathroom. I mumbled something unintelligibly under my breath, but stumbled along without further protest.

Her hands disappeared as I reached the doorway to the bathroom, so I turned around to watch her as she marched back to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows. For a second, I frowned in confusion, but then my expression changed into one of slight amusement as she chucked it at Dominic, who seemed to be asleep.

"You should get up as well," she said, her voice still bright.

Slowly, Dominic pried the pillow away from his face to glare at the other vampire. "What, do I need a dress, too?" he muttered.

"No, but you'd sure look pretty in one," Anya replied as she bent down to give his cheek a pinch. In response, he growled quietly and pushed her hand away.

Well, at least I was a better morning person than him.

"Alright, alright," I heard Anya say as she got back up. "But I expect you to be up in ten minutes."

He didn't reply as Anya left him to tug me with her into the bathroom, but just as she turned to close the door behind us, I saw the pillow come flying right back at her. She shut the door before it could reach her, and I heard a surprisingly harsh thump as the cushion hit the material now standing between them.

Yep, I was _definitely_ a better morning person than him…

"Alright," Anya said again, though it sounded less defeated this time. "Wait here."

I watched her as she dashed past me and disappeared around the corner to where the bathtub and shower was. During the few seconds she was gone, I let my eyes drift to my mother, who I'd realized was sitting quietly on the closed lid of the toilet. The dull expression on her face and the way she kept avoiding my gaze by staring down at the floor told me that she'd had another relapse. Unlike my sleep, which was progressively disappearing in time with the arrival of the dinner, her moments of confusion were only increasing in number. I could only hope that, once she was out of here, she'd be fine again.

The re-approaching sounds of Anya's steps made me look away from my silent mother and back at the only vampire in the room. Draped over her right arm were now at least five garments. I regarded them cautiously.

"How many dresses am I wearing?" I asked slowly.

She waved my skepticism off with her free hand and said, "It's always good to have options."

"I'd be fine if you gave me a garbage bag."

She shot me a look that expressed her distaste for that idea.

"Honestly," I said. "It's not a big deal. I'm not even gonna be there for long."

I didn't realize my mistake until after the words had left me. For a moment, as Anya danced across the room to hand over the garment bags to my silently cooperative mother, I was sure she hadn't picked up on what I'd said. But, of course, she then froze and turned around. I only flinched mildly as her red eyes bored into mine.

"Why exactly are you not going to be there for long?" she asked, slowly. The confusion was clear in her voice, but I wasn't sure if I was just imagining a hint of suspicion there as well.

I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure how to recover. I hadn't told her about my plans to leave and neither was I going to, not only because I was afraid to say it out loud lest unwanted ears were in hearing distance, but also since I couldn't really bring myself to say goodbye to her.

"Anya, I don't want to spend the whole night with vampires," I said, trying to make up for what had slipped out without having to lie.

It seemed to work, because she broke her stare and crossed the room to grab a toiletry bag that had been resting beside the sink. As she started sifting through the contents of it, she added, "There'll be humans there, too, you know."

For a brief moment, I perked up. "You mean humans from here?" I asked.

Anya stopped her movements to look up at me. Her eyes weren't as bright as I imagined mine had become, and I quickly realized what she'd meant.

Frowning, I said, "I really don't think seeing those vampires drag their humans around will make me feel any more comfortable."

The room was silent for a moment while Anya went back to rustling through the bag. I only watched silently as she lined up a little row of makeup.

"Just don't worry," she finally said, softly. "It won't be that bad."

"I'm not worried," I lied.

She glanced back at me and said, "The dark circles under your eyes say differently."

I scowled a little, but my glare eased when she smiled.

"Come on," she said, dropping the subject. "Let's get you ready."

* * *

><p>I spent the majority of the day listening to the iPod I'd once again stolen from Dominic while Anya either fiddled with my hair or brushed makeup onto my face. I didn't object even once – not even when she suggested waxing my legs – though I silently counted the many different ways I'd rather have spent my afternoon.<p>

Eventually, Anya seemed satisfied enough with my appearance, because she offered me one last smile and a promise to see me later before she dashed out of the room. I remained where I was for a long moment, perched on the edge of the bathtub, while I tried to calm the constant stir of nerves in me. I wished that the nervousness was only about the quickly approaching dinner, but even though I attempted to think of it as adrenaline, I knew the uneasiness was something closer to worry for the later part of the night.

I sighed heavily.

I was _not_ getting cold feet.

With a quiet growl – directed at myself – I got up and started pacing across the room. A flash of movement caught my eye, and I stopped my angry walking to glance at the full-length mirror Anya had earlier placed in the room. In the reflection of the mirror, my brown eyes stared back accusingly at me.

A soft knock brought me out of the moment, and I glanced in the direction of the sound just as my mother stepped inside.

"I thought I'd do a last touch-up," she said softly, speaking to me for the first time in hours.

"Mum," I started in objection, but she was already closing the door and making her way over to me.

I turned back to my reflection while her face grew visible just behind mine. Soon enough, I felt her fingers softly touch my hair, which had been pulled back into a sort of a messy bun that still managed to look elegant. Two thick, wavy locks had been pulled out of the hairdo to frame my face on either side.

After a few seconds, I heard my mother ask, "How are you feeling?"

I avoided answering the question by countering with, "How are _you_ feeling?"

Our eyes met in the mirror.

"This isn't about me, Honey," she said softly while she tugged a little at the white lace dress Anya had settled on making me wear. "It's you that I'm worried about."

"Don't be," I murmured. "I'll be fine."

She only watched me silently, so I turned around to face her completely.

"Mum, I won't be in any danger." The lie tasted bitterly, but I forced myself to add, "You have to believe that."

"You're right," she agreed quietly. "You won't be in any danger as long as you're with Dominic."

I wasn't sure if she was smart or foolish for believing that, but I was afraid that arguing would change the convinced tone of her voice.

"You'll stay by his side, won't you?" she asked. Her hands slowly lifted to cradle my face. "Promise me you will."

I stared at her for a moment before I found myself answering, "Alright. I promise."

I saw an unreadable look flicker across her face, but I didn't have the chance to figure out what it meant before she wrapped her arms around me and tugged me into her warm embrace. Slowly, I hugged myself to her; I could use her familiar comfort.

"I love you, Honey," she murmured, her voice close to my ear.

It sounded strangely much like a goodbye, but I replied, "I love you, too."

She leaned back to give me one last look before she let go of me. In the background, I heard the vague sound of the bedroom door opening, but I didn't focus on it as I stared back at my mother. There was something hiding in her dark brown eyes – an unreadable look that made my nervousness even worse – but before I could ask her what was wrong, she sent me off in the direction of the door. I glanced at her once more before I took a deep breath and made my way out into the bedroom.

I'd already suspected that Dominic would be waiting there, but I hadn't expected him to look the way he did where he was leaning against the doorframe. He'd exchanged his usual style of clothing for a black suit; the smooth fabric of it contrasted perfectly with his alabaster skin. There wasn't much different about his face – his eyes were still just a tiny shade from onyx and his dark hair was tousled as usual – but there was something about the formality of his garments that gave him a new look.

As I crossed the room, he straightened out of his relaxed pose and dug his hands into the pockets of his dark dress pants. I could feel him watching me, but I didn't meet his gaze while I slipped on the pair of heels I'd been prompted to wear.

"Are you ready to go?" I heard him ask. The tone of his voice made it sound more like '_are you sure you want to go_'.

I finally lifted my eyes to his. Despite his black irises, the expression on his face looked humane.

"Yeah," I replied through an exhale.

He watched me for another brief moment before he took a step back, indicating for me to follow him out of the room. Despite the uneasiness in me, I did, but only after shooting my mother one last look. She'd moved out of the bathroom to stand a few feet away, and as my gaze locked with hers, she smiled encouragingly.

It didn't reach her eyes.

I followed Dominic out into the corridor while my eyebrows slowly knitted together. Something was wrong – something other than the fact that I was heading out on what felt like a suicide mission – and I didn't like leaving without knowing exactly what it was. The only problem was that it was a little too late to back out now.

So, with a soft sigh, I hurried my steps to match Dominic's long strides as he led me downstairs and towards the large front door. Unlike the last time I'd seen it, it was wide open to show the beautiful snow-covered ground outside. In spite of my lingering worry, I felt my lips tug up into a smile while I walked past Dominic and out into the early evening. Without thinking twice, I stepped away from the clear pathway and out into the white snow. The cold touch on my feet felt odd, but it still made my smile widen.

That was, until I heard a chuckle behind me.

I turned my head to look at Dominic. He was still standing in the doorway, though now with a dark red coat in his hands and a slight smile on his lips. It wasn't until then that I realized how freezing the air was against my skin.

"You forgot something," Dominic said while he crossed the distance between us. I stared up at him as he draped the dark red coat around my shoulders. "You'll freeze to death without this one."

"And wouldn't that be a shame when I need you both for tonight?"

I felt a shiver run down my spine in response to the sound of the cold voice. I refused to look up at the vampire I knew would be standing there, but I watched Dominic as he did turn.

"Riley," he only said, as if simply acknowledging him.

I turned away from them both to gaze at the snow. I managed to tune out their conversation so fully that I didn't notice they were moving until I felt a grip on my elbow. I glanced up at Dominic in a silent inquiry, but he didn't say anything before he started gently tugging me with him, heading down the pathway. Further away, I could see large gates waiting for us.

"I gather you're enjoying being outside," I heard the same cold voice from before say.

I knew the words were meant for me and, despite the fear I couldn't shake, I felt a slight anger take place in me as well. This vampire was mainly the reason why I hadn't been out in so long – and, judging by the slight curl of his lips as my eyes snapped up to his, that was exactly why he'd even bothered to mention it.

I bit back my anger and looked away without answering.

"I trust that you know why you're joining us tonight," he continued.

I tried my best to make my voice just as detached as his as I answered, "You want to prove a point."

"More or less, yes," he said.

He sounded disinterested in the subject, but since he was even taking the time to talk to me, I assumed he was just hiding his true feelings for the matter.

"Why, though?" I couldn't help but ask. I felt Dominic's grip on my arm tighten slightly, but I ignored it. "Why do you need to prove this point?"

To my surprise, I got an answer.

"If more catch on," the leader said, coldly, "there'll soon be absolutely no respect for humans whatsoever. They can't cross that line."

"That's ironic," I scoffed. This time, the grip on my elbow turned painfully tight, but once again I dismissed the warning as I added, "You've made it perfectly clear that you have no respect for humans."

It wasn't until after the words had left me that my fear bubbled to surface again. I did my best to keep my expression neutral as I shot a brief glance at the hostile vampire beside me. Shockingly, his face was still cold, which I was starting to learn meant that he wasn't angry.

'_Yet_,' a voice in my head added.

"That's true," he said. I could only detect a slight irritation in his voice.

"So why bother?" I asked, quietly this time.

"It's time for a change."

That said, he hurried his pace so that he was marching ahead of us. I watched his retreating form while the fear in me was slowly replaced by a slight shock. Had that really happened?

I was given an answer just a second later when Dominic used his grip on my arm to turn me towards him. He was no longer smiling, which made his dark eyes far more intimidating as they bored into mine.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he asked.

I turned my head away from him, but he gripped my chin to steer my eyes back to his. His skin was icy against mine, reminding me more vividly of the fact that he hadn't fed in a long time.

"Amber, the last time you saw Riley, he was threatening to kill you," he said. His voice was gentler than his hold on my chin. "Don't push him like that again."

I only stared up at him, cautious to move. After a few seconds, he looked down at the hand that was keeping my head still, as if he hadn't realized his own actions until then. Slowly, he let both his arms drop back to his sides.

"He wouldn't kill me," I said while I took a slight step back. My elbow was aching mildly. "He said he needed us both for tonight."

Dominic watched me for a moment before he replied, "Just don't push him like that again."

Even if I'd been planning to, I doubted I'd have the chance again. The thought of that brought a new question to mind.

Would Riley still just have walked away like that if he'd known my plans for after the dinner?

"The car's waiting." Dominic's voice stopped my mind from figuring out an answer. "Let's go."

I nodded, but he'd already started walking. This time, he didn't grip my arm.

I trailed after him as he headed towards the gates, my steps slower now that I realized it really was time to leave. Dominic didn't glance back at me, but I knew he was aware of my sluggish pace, because he kept his own steps just as slow. The only sounds were the crunching of snow beneath our feet.

As we reached the gates, I spotted three glossy black cars waiting a few feet away. Without hesitating, Dominic continued on towards the second one, where he stopped to open the door to the backseat. As he made no move to get in, I realized he was waiting for me. Silently, I got into the car.

Dominic disappeared from outside the door and a moment later I heard him get in on the other side. I kept gazing out the window, waiting for the sight of Anya. It wasn't until I heard the low sound of the starting engine that I understood she was already seated in another car.

"Just great," I muttered under my breath.

I sneaked a glance at Dominic, who – as expected – was looking out the window on his side. His abrupt change of mood only left me both confused and annoyed, but I didn't comment on it as I sank deeper into my seat and turned my own eyes to my window.

I thought I saw a flash of movement just outside the house we were leaving, but before I could figure out if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, the house was out of sight. I turned my head to give it one last look, knowing very well that the next time I'd see it I'd be on my way out of it for good.

So why wasn't I jumping with excitement?

* * *

><p><strong>I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I've been waiting to get to this part of the story for a long time. So, rather than cram it all into this chapter, I'll save it for the next one - which I hope I'll be able to write even with the loads of homework I know will be coming soon! <strong>

**I'm curious, though - any thoughts on what might happen next?  
><strong>

**Until next time :)**


	17. Chapter 16

**...Hey.**

So, I know I always used to say that I was lousy at updating, but I do think that _two freakin' years_ is a record for me. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that no one remembers this story, _but _now that I finally (and, well, quite randomly) found the time and inspiration to write this chapter, I thought I might as well post it here.

I have no idea how this is gonna go, but I'm hoping that this story can keep me sane during my last, scary semester of school. So, if you somehow find yourself reading this, I just wanted to say: I'm back! :)

/B.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SIXTEEN<strong>

_Take a look at my face for the last time,  
>I never knew you, you never knew me,<br>Say hello, goodbye._

_(David Gray)_

The car ride with Dominic turned out to be a lot more frustrating than I'd initially expected.

My growing bundle of uneasiness had already set the tension in the car at a high level, and for every minute that passed in silence, that level only seemed to climb higher and higher up its scale. I spent the whole forty-five minute long ride on the edge of my seat, impossibly torn between wanting a break from the silent treatment I was being served and fearing the moment when that wish would actually come true, as it would mean that it was time to leave the car and the - albeit frustratingly quiet - safety it offered. Thus, by the time that the car finally slowed to a smooth stop, I wasn't sure whether to welcome fear or relief.

Without accepting either emotion, I took a deep breath and turned my attention to my seat belt. Before I could unbuckle it, though, a cold hand stopped me. I looked up at Dominic in confusion; his response was a meaningful glance at the window. The car started moving again as I followed the direction of the vampire's gaze, and I looked out just in time to see that we were heading through a large gate.

The lump of uneasiness in my stomach became more prominent as I realized that we were smoothly closing the distance between us and the house of doom, and I could feel my heart thump faster. The fear I'd tried to block out was now slowly seeping into my veins.

I closed my eyes as I struggled to inhale another deep gust of air. My next breath was shaky as it left my lips.

"Relax, Amber," I heard Dominic murmur.

The softness of his voice surprised me after the past hour of dreary silence. I turned my head to face the vampire sitting next to me. He was observing something outside of the car, but his words had revealed that he was fully aware of my current state of distress.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Your heart is racing."

"I'm aware of that, thank you."

"Well, you won't be the only one aware of it once we're inside the house." Dominic's dark eyes found mine. Despite the unhelpful remark, his gaze was kinder than it had been an hour ago. After a moment of silence, he added, "No one's going to harm you, though. I promise."

I thought back to the conversation we'd had before leaving, remembering the painful grip he'd had on my arm. A second later, the image of his face as he realized he was hurting me flashed across my mind.

Still, I said, "Don't break that promise."

I anticipated his response to be anything from a reassuring smile to an irritated sigh, but he surprised me by gently touching the part of my arm that he'd been gripping earlier. I repressed the urge to flinch away as his cold fingers traced my skin.

"I won't," Dominic said, quietly, before he withdrew his hand and looked out the window again. When he spoke again, his tone of voice had changed. "You better put on your coat. We're almost there."

While I put on the dark red coat I'd been given, I looked out my window once more, silently watching the house we were pulling up to. Warm light was flooding out of every single window; the beautiful serenity of this image was a stark contrast to the nature of the creatures I knew the building contained.

I felt the car stop once more, but I remained in my seat, watching unfamiliar figures pass by behind the windows of the house. I was forced out of my passive state when the door to my side opened. Dominic's hand came into view a second later, and I quickly understood that he was intending for me to join him.

"Show time," I whispered to myself, before I grabbed Dominic's hand and reluctantly let him pull me out into the cold night.

* * *

><p>The first part of the evening passed by in a blur of unfamiliar faces and various shades of red eyes.<p>

I found myself glued to Dominic's side throughout it all, not only because of the promise I'd made to my mother about staying with him, but also because of how the arm he kept around me barely allowed me to move. I kept telling myself that the only reason I wasn't fighting his hold on me was because I was on constant supervision by the leader - I wasn't willing to give him another reason to get angry - but really, I knew I was grateful for the support that Dominic's arm offered. Without it, I doubted I'd have been able to keep myself together amongst the sea of vampires I was being guided through.

Despite this support, though, I found that my anxiety grew with each hand I had to shake and every smile I forced myself to fake. It was one thing to pretend that I was unphased by being surrounded by such an overwhelming number of the creatures I'd taught myself to hate, but to have to act as if I couldn't see the lifeless humans a majority of said creatures were tugging around with them… It made me sick to my stomach.

Thus, by the time that we had all assembled around the long, elegantly decorated tables to eat, the uneasiness in me had taken over any possible desire to try the food in front of me. Instead, as an attempt to give myself a momentary pause from the unnatural and sickening situation I was in, I locked my gaze on the filled plate and tuned out the conversations that were flowing around me. I wasn't completely immune to the occasional burning sensation of being on the receiving end of a curious stare or a disdainful scowl, but the frustration that this stirred in me was taken out on my food, which I was angrily poking with my fork.

I stayed like that for a long time, hoping to find an inner sense of peace among the hum of voices around me. Eventually, though, an exasperated sigh managed to slip through my outer facade of calmness. I knew I shouldn't have expected it to go unnoticed by the person next to me, but I was still surprised when I heard Dominic's familiar voice right by my ear.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine," I said, repeating the same lie that I'd used earlier in the car.

"You've barely touched your food."

I stabbed my food a little harsher to demonstrate my objection to that statement.

"You know what I mean," he said.

I half-turned in my seat to look at him. His lips parted as if he was about to continue the conversation - even though it had been a quite one-sided one so far - but something behind me seemed to catch his attention. Rather than following the direction of his gaze, I studied his movements as he suddenly stretched out his arm to let his hand linger just above my glass. Perplexed, I finally looked behind me; my eyes found the blue ones of a man who seemed to be serving as a waiter. In his hands was a bottle of - what I assumed to be - wine.

"Not a fan of underage drinking?" I asked Dominic as the waiter continued on to the other guests around the table, leaving my glass empty. I was given no reply, so I decided to drop it. However, as the waiter came back around to fill Dominic's glass only to get stopped once more, my curiosity was peaked. I welcomed this momentary distraction by adding, "Or are you just against drinking in general?"

Dominic leaned in closer to answer, "Only when the drink is spiked with blood."

I felt the mentioned fluid leave my face in response. A lump of nausea climbed up my throat as I watched one of the vampires lift his glass to his lips and take a sip. The human girl sitting next to him looked just as horrified as I felt inside.

Quietly, I asked, "And why would that stop you from drinking it?"

Dominic shot me a look I couldn't quite read.

"I know you're thirsty," I added without thinking.

His reply was a sigh that sent a gust of cool air my way. I shivered in response to the obvious longing that I could detect in the exhale.

_He was definitely thirsty_.

The distance between us started to feel way too small for comfort, and I squirmed a little in my seat as I contemplated possible ways to add some space between his concealed fangs and my revealed neck. Finally, I settled on just mumbling, "I think I need some fresh air."

I attempted to leave my seat, but Dominic stopped me by gently gripping my wrist.

"I don't think you should head off on your own," he said, his words a quiet warning.

I knew he was probably right - and I was aware of the fact that I was about to break the promise I'd made to my mother - but in that moment, my need for a brief moment of privacy felt more important.

"I'll be alright," I answered.

Dominic's hand lingered on mine for another few seconds before he gave up on his hesitation. I knew I was being watched as I discretely rose from my seat, so I flashed Dominic a sweet smile - though I was sure he could see through the falsity of it - before I headed away from the table as gracefully as I could in the ridiculous heels Anya had forced me to wear. I kept looking straight ahead of me until I was out of the room.

As soon as the commotion behind me was nothing but a vague mumble, I let out a relieved sigh and hurried my steps even further, longing for my moment of freedom. A tiny voice in the back of my mind kept reminding me of my promise to stay by Dominic's side, but it didn't fuel enough guilt in me to make me turn my back on the front doors I was rapidly approaching. Despite the wintery weather outside, they had been left wide open and - to my great surprise - seemingly unguarded. I could see the snowflakes falling softly outside; the sight of them entranced me just like it had before we'd left for this dinner. Without bothering to look around for the dark red coat I'd handed over upon my arrival, I crossed the wide threshold and stepped out into the cold evening.

Freezing gusts of air breezed past me as I took a few steps away from the house, but rather than wrapping my arms around myself, I stretched them out and turned my face up towards the sky. The cold touch of snowflakes against my skin made me close my eyes and smile - genuinely, this time. The feeling was liberating.

But, as I'd come to know, freedom never seemed to last for me.

I doubted more than a minute could've passed before my bubble of happiness was burst by the sound of a hemming behind me. Figuring it was Dominic, I only let my arms fall back to my sides while I remained standing there with my back facing him.

"I told you I'd be alright," I sighed.

The voice that answered me was familiar, but it definitely didn't belong to the vampire I'd just left.

"Oh, you didn't tell me anything about this stupid plan."

My eyes snapped open. I whirled around to face the person behind me, but the movement was too hasty for my unsteady legs to handle. I felt my body give in to gravity, and so with a surprised '_whoop'_ escaping my lips, I tumbled to the ground.

_So much for being graceful…_

I groaned quietly as the touch of the snow grew painfully cold against my bare legs, but my complaint was cut off short by the sound of a poorly stifled chuckle. I looked up in the direction of the sound and, rather than meeting Dominic's dark gaze, I found myself staring into the blue eyes of a man who was supposed to be miles away.

Cody.

"Tell me," he said, clearly amused, "whose idea was it to put you in those shoes?"

I gazed up at him in silence while the snow beneath me slowly made me shudder. Cody's initial response to my dumbfounded expression was another chuckle, but he was quick to stretch out a hand for me to grab when he noticed that I wasn't about to move. Rather than turning down the offer, I let him pull me back up from the freezing ground. He held on to my hand for a moment longer than necessary, but before he could pull away, I flung my arms around him and hugged him tighter than I probably should've after our last encounter. To my surprise, though, he showed no signs of hesitation or reluctance as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me even closer.

"You're not supposed to be here," I mumbled into his jacket. My voice sounded more relieved than accusatory.

"Neither are you," he replied.

The warmth of his embrace made it difficult to pull away, and I used this as an excuse not to lean back and meet his gaze as I said, "Why would you come here, though? The last time I saw you-"

He cut me off. "Hey, you may have chosen to trust that leech instead of me, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you head out on a suicide mission."

"It's not a suicide mission," I objected, though I feared heading back inside the house.

He snorted. "What else would you call it?"

I clung to him for another moment before I finally leaned back to look up at him. "This dinner is sort of...my ticket out of here," I said, quietly. He frowned, clearly confused, so I added, "I made a deal with Dominic. He's letting me leave after this."

"No, you need to leave now," Cody objected. "I've got a car ready-"

"No, Cody, I'm..._leaving_." The word was a hushed one, but I knew he'd heard me. "For good."

I watched his facial expression change as the realization dawned on me. His arms - and the warmth they'd provided me with - disappeared from around me as he sharply said, "Are you out of your mind?"

I ignored his remark by simply saying, "I have to do this."

"Amber, they'll find you." He was quiet for a moment before he said, "Or they'll make _me_ find you."

His words weren't a threat; they were a plea. I suddenly remembered what Thomas had told me, about how Cody was struggling to do the right thing. After a brief moment of hesitation, I said, "So come with me."

An incredulous expression danced across his face.

"Think about it." I grabbed his hands, trying to transfer some of my newfound energy to him. "You wouldn't have to help the vampires anymore. You wouldn't have to leave Emma with them. We'd all be free."

For a moment, as his hands squeezed mine gently, I genuinely believed he would say yes.

But then his warm fingers disappeared and he slowly said, "We wouldn't be free, Amber. We'd be dead."

"At least we'd die as free people," I shot back. I wished there had been more fire in my voice.

He shook his head, as if incredulous. "You may be willing to risk your life, but I'm not sending my little sister into a _death trap_. And you shouldn't send your mother into one, either."

I was taken aback for a second before I managed to ask, "You knew she was alive?"

"I found out today. Right before I found out that you'd headed out on this god damn suicide mission." The softening tone of his voice contrasted the harshness of his words. I looked away, unsure of how to respond, but as his hands snuck up to cradle my face, he successfully coerced me into meeting his blue gaze again. His previous frustration had left his voice completely as he said, "Please don't go through with this, Amber."

A large amount of various responses flitted through my brain, but eventually I settled on just quietly saying, "Please don't stop me this time."

He rested his forehead against mine. For a moment, time stood still.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Cody finally said, softly, before he broke away from me.

I could hear the crunching of snow beneath his feet as he started walking away, most certainly heading in the direction of the car he'd spoken of earlier. I looked down at the white ground for a second, fighting unwanted tears, before I turned to shout Cody's name. He stopped to look back at me.

"Would you do it again?" I asked, loud enough for him to hear me. "Would you really bring me back to the vampires again?"

He watched me silently for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Let's hope we don't have to find out."

That said, he turned back around and started walking again, his steps faster now. I watched his retreating figure until my vision grew blurry with the tears I'd been trying to hold back. I angrily brushed away the drops of saltwater that were threatening to slide down my cheeks.

"I thought you said you'd be alright."

Although I knew I shouldn't have expected Dominic to stay behind for more than a few minutes, his voice still startled me. I didn't turn around to face him, so it came as a surprise when I felt the weight of fabric on my shoulders. As I glanced down, I realized that it was Dominic's jacket.

"Thanks," I mumbled while I adjusted the garment so that it was almost wrapped around me. I hadn't realized how cold I was until then.

He was silent for a moment before he finally said, "I'm sorry for breaking my promise."

"Cody didn't hurt me," I replied quietly, knowing fully which promise he was referring to.

"But he might."

I half-turned to look at him. The knowing expression on his face made me groan quietly before I said, "You heard the whole conversation, didn't you?"

I took his silence as a yes. My anger was only short-lived, though, and after a moment, the sadness came back to take its place.

"Is he right?" I asked. To clarify, I added, "Am I leading my mum into a death trap?"

Dominic appraised me silently for a moment. Finally, he gave me a soft but simple, "No."

I wasn't sure if he was being honest or not, but I accepted his answer as the truth. It felt better to believe that he supported my decision than to imagine that he was on Cody's side.

"Now, come on," he said after another moment of peaceful silence. He stretched out his hand toward me, just like he had before we'd left the car. I knew what it meant. "Let's get the rest of this night over with, shall we?"

* * *

><p>I ended up spending the last part of the evening by the bar, simply because it offered me some distance from the crowd of vampires I was hoping to avoid. Although I was breaking my promise once again by not staying by Dominic's side, I felt more comfortable just leaning against the smooth surface of the bar than I would have if I'd joined him in his casual conversations. Besides, the way he kept stealing glances at me assured me that he was keeping an eye on me.<p>

Therefore, my biggest problem wasn't the fact that I was separated from the one my mother was trusting to keep me safe. The real issue was currently the bartender, who had refused to do more than give me brief but suspicious looks. Of all the rules there were to follow - no murdering, no stealing - the one about underage drinking was apparently the only one that mattered here.

I held back a disdainful snort.

"A scotch. Neat."

I jumped a little at the sound of a voice right next to me. Out of slight curiosity, I stole a look at the man who was mirroring my position just inches away.

He was handsome, of course - I'd learnt to expect that when it came to vampires - with short, black hair and a slight smirk on his lips. Though he was dressed as formally as the others in the room, the obvious hint of stubble along the angular line of his cheeks and chin made him look less on edge. For some reason, this quality of his made me feel comfortable enough to stay where I was.

Upon sensing my brief stare, the vampire turned slightly to let his dark gaze sweep over me. I wasn't sure whether to roll my eyes or flinch away, so I did neither.

"You're Dominic's girl," he stated while his crooked smile grew slightly wider. His French accent rolled smoothly off his tongue.

I raised an eyebrow sceptically, but a moment later I realized that it must have been Dominic's jacket - which was still draped over my shoulders - that had given me away. Quickly, I shrugged out of it and let it rest on the counter of the bar. The bartender looked at me once more in reaction to my sudden movement, but he said nothing as he set down an old-fashioned glass containing an amber liquid in front of the vampire next to me. Before he could slip away, though, the vampire said, "One for her, too."

Again, it was a statement rather than a question. I didn't object, though.

"So," the vampire said while the bartender returned with another glass for me, "people have been talking about you."

I looked down at my hand as my finger traced the rim of my glass, cautious to encourage him to continue the conversation. Still, I quietly answered, "Have they, now?"

"Mhm." As I looked back up at him, his dark eyes caught mine. "They've left out your name, though."

My mouth seemed to move of its own accord, and a second later I heard myself answer, "It's Amber."

I didn't notice him reaching for my free hand until I felt his cold fingers circle mine, but I felt no urge to shake him off. Instead, I quietly met his gaze while he lifted my hand towards his lips to give the back of it a brief kiss.

"Already pursuing young women, Pascal?"

Dominic's familiar voice broke the spell. As soon as I came to my senses, I ripped my hand out of the vampire's grip and took a step back. I wasn't sure whether to be angry at the vampire for using compulsion or at myself for being manipulated so easily.

"Just getting to know your date a little better, Moreau," the dark-haired vampire said. He smiled his crooked little smile again as he noticed my reaction.

"I think you've gotten to know her well enough," Dominic answered.

I hadn't noticed the iciness in his voice until now. The other vampire chuckled quite humorlessly before he grabbed his glass and smoothly downed his drink. After letting his empty glass slam onto the counter again, he flashed me one last smirk and walked away. I scowled at his retreating back until he was out of sight.

"Friend of yours?" I muttered as I slowly let my gaze settle on Dominic's face.

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh, I don't know, _Moreau_…"

Dominic's tense expression dissolved into a slight smile. "You caught that?"

"You're not the only observant one," I replied.

His smile lingered for another few seconds before he abruptly ended the moment by looking away. As I followed the direction of his gaze, I realized that he was watching Anya, who was standing in the doorway. In her hands was my dark red coat.

I felt my mood change in a heartbeat, but I refused to acknowledge the new feeling as sadness. Still, as I looked back up at Dominic, I couldn't help but feel glad that I could use the supernaturally observant crowd of vampires around me as an excuse not to give him a proper goodbye. Instead, I only let Dominic hold my gaze for a long moment before I, with a soft sigh, stepped away from him. The walk across the room seemed longer than it had before, but I didn't look back until I'd reached Anya, who immediately helped me put on my coat. The last glimpse I got of Dominic was one of him downing the drink I'd left with him. He was no longer smiling.

A second later, he was out of sight as Anya gently tugged me with her, clearly heading for the front doors. I followed her quietly, accepting the fact that she somehow knew I was heading back to the house, even though I had left her in the dark when it came to my plans for after the dinner. I wasn't fond of goodbyes.

She seemed to have other plans than to spend this moment in silence, though.

"How was your night?" she asked as we crossed the threshold and headed outside. I didn't greet the snowflakes with a relieved smile this time.

"Well," I said, "I'm still alive, at least."

She nudged my shoulder with hers, but didn't try to coax a less sarcastic answer out of me. We walked quietly for a moment before she surprised me by saying, "I hope you know that I'll miss having you around."

We pulled to a stop by a car similar to the one I'd been in earlier. Slowly, I turned to face her.

"Dominic told you?" I sighed.

"No," Anya answered. "But he didn't have to, Amber."

I glanced down at the ground for a second before I dismissed her words by replying to the ones she'd uttered earlier. "I'll miss you, too, you know," I said, genuinely. Before I could grow solemn, I added, "I won't miss these heels, though."

She smiled brightly. Before the moment could be ruined, I forced myself to open the car door and get into my seat. Anya closed the door for me and flashed me one last smile. I returned it, but as soon as the car had pulled away from the driveway, I felt my final smile of the evening leave my lips in an instant.

A moment later, I covered my face and allowed myself to welcome my nonsensical sadness while the car smoothly led me away from the reality I had just dismissed and toward the future I had chosen.

* * *

><p>The house was deadly silent as I finally entered it an hour later.<p>

I'd expected to find the emptiness of the house relieving after the past hours of being surrounded by such a large number of vampires, but for some reason, I found the isolated silence much more frightening. Rather than breaking the uncanny quietness, I adjusted to it by taking off my shoes, as it allowed me to silently pad through the house on bare feet. Besides, it gave me an excuse to finally get rid of the damned heels.

There was a feeling I couldn't quite put my finger on as I headed up the stairs and towards the room I had spent the past months in. It allowed for my previous uneasiness to settle in the pit of my stomach once more, which in return made each step harder for me to take. Thus, rather than approaching the room with anticipation and excitement - or any of the other positive emotions that I had hoped would overwhelm me now that my wish to leave was finally coming true - I was making my way towards it with a feeling of dread.

I convinced myself that this would change once I saw my mother, and so with that thought in my mind, I opened the door to Dominic's room and braced myself for the moment of liberation.

Instead, I was greeted with an even deadlier silence, followed by a heartbreaking realization;

My mother was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>I would love to hear what you guys think about the chapter, so feel free to leave a review :)<strong>

**Until next time! (Which I promise will be in less than two years..)**


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